Kris Vallotton and Bethel Cannot Escape Link to New Age Occultism
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Kris Vallotton and Bill Johnson are in a quagmire of New Age Occultism of their own making, but no matter how many posts they erase, or how much they tell their own cover stories, the truth is that they don't teach biblical Christianity and it's (hopefully) starting to become more obvious.
At Bethel Church you find these things:
The strange "Latter Rain" and "New Breed" false doctrine leftover from creepy cult-leader William Branham
The prosperity gospel heresy of Benny Hinn, and many others (including disgusting blog posts from Kris Vallotton, like this)
A witch who gets positive and affirming "prophetic words" from Bethel "prophets" who tell her to continue her witchcraft
Bill Johnson, Kris Vallotton, and other Bethel staff contributed to a book that openly encourages Christians to "take back truths" from the New Age to become more effective Christians
The Bethel "gospel" is has nothing to do with sinners repenting of their sin and believing in the atoning sacrifice of Christ to pay for their sins; the Bethel "gospel" is largely focused on telling people how wonderful and loved they are, and helping them to discover their "Destiny."
Bill Johnson and Kris Vallotton are famous for creating a whole new type of church, where they are known as new Apostles who get direct words from God to guide Christians "off the map" of orthodox, biblical Christianity, which they continually deride as old-fashioned, ineffective and "religious."
In short, nobody goes to Bethel (or their "School of Supernatural Ministry") to learn "traditional" Christianity because they teach that we're in a new era where everyone can hear directly from God (outside of the Bible) and where there are no rules about how to do anything anymore. The "spirit leads us" now. Bethel tells people to experiment and make lots of mistakes until they finally figure out how to "prophecy" or heal people or whatever.
So now a group in Australia called "Christalignment" which has been following the Bethel methods to a tee, is getting thrown under the bus of Kris Vallotton, Bill Johnson & Company. This couple, Ken and Jenny Hodge, are the founders of Christalignment:
These people are committed to fitting in with hippy/New Age types, so they dress the part and try to be relatable to that crowd. The people of Christalignment give "readings" using their own specially painted "prophetic" cards so that people can learn about their "destiny" or receive some supernatural information about themselves. Does this sound like a physic reading using tarot cards? Yes, of course it does, that's the whole idea! These people are slipping into all sorts of New Age events in order to reach the non-Christian world with what they sincerely believe is the Gospel. That's what they say and believe. This article will not deal with the question of whether these are good things for Christians to be doing; that's for another day.
These are probably incredibly devoted and caring people who have the best of intentions. Here are some testimonials from their website:
What Our Clients Say About Us
"Wow... I think I read your Dream interpretation 5 times, put it down, pondered on it and re-read it. That is so spot on as to how my life has been. I cannot express to you just how much I am ministered to right now. So many years of waiting for an interpretation.... and it ministers to me more in my season now than had I gotten it earlier. I am writing this with big fat tears of much gratitude rolling down my cheeks right now. Thank you." -Michele
"So true, big shift happened. Life is amazing. Thanks for your guidance. Will let you know when I remember my next dream." -Bianca
"I attended the MBS festival in Sydney yesterday and had a fantastic reading with one of your readers (the lady with the purple hair)." -Greta
"I wish to thank the people at Dandenong market this morning. You have changed my health and mindset. Again.... Thank you." -Tracey
"I met you today at Mornington, Jenny, and wanted to tell you how much more relaxed and positive I feel. Thank you so very much." -Heather
"Thank you so much to the guy & gals at Dandy market today, sorry forgot your names; was just what I needed today - some confirmations & healing as well, so many trials & tribulations have been happening. Thanks again for understanding." -Maria
"Today I went to the Mind Body Spirit festival in the city. Wow, I was blown away by how accurate a reading I had done by a lovely lady named Ally from Christalignment." -Heidi
"Very impressed by Christalignment insights from Spirit at Dandenong market which gave me answers to my questions. Authority, peace, transition, transformation to the Third Heaven. Bliss."-Anne
"I went two times to Christalignment, both being very beneficial to me. I always believed in a higher power and intuitive souls, earth angels. Chau and the team helped me get some direction to where I am in life and some deep relief from a long 5 years of depression. I felt calm and accepted by this lovely group of souls. Thank you guys." -Erin
Notice that these testimonials have nothing to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But they seem to be really effective at making people feel some kind of genuine spiritual experience. So what does this have to do with Kris Vallotton and Bethel? Well, today he reacted to this article from Pulpit and Pen (that made the practices of Christalignment more widely known) and he spoke against the apparent "Christian tarot card" reading. Notice how Vallotton speaks as if these are people he knows nothing about:
Kris Vallotton tries his best to distance himself by claiming no responsibility for the practices of Christalignment, but he quickly discovered that he couldn't brush this off. Bethel is just too closely associated with Christalignment and people started confronting him on his Facebook wall, including Ken and Jenny Hodge, who claim to be the parents of Ben Fitzgerald, a pastor/missionary from Bethel!
Other people wrote on Vallotton's wall in support of the Hodge's "Christalignment" methods, and Vallotton wrote almost nothing at all:
What did you expect, Kris Vallotton?? This is the fruit of Bethel's vague, feel-good, do whatever you think the spirit is telling you to do philosophy! Bill Johnson wrote that we should "take back truths" from the New Age; isn't that exactly what Christalignment is doing? Vallotton, Johnson and all the Bethel pastors teach that the unbelievers need to have an "encounter with God" (not hear crusty old Bible passages) and isn't Christalignment doing that very thing? They believe they have discovered an innovative new way to help people "experience God."
Christalignment and Bethel Church teach the same things! Here's a story written by a student of Bethel's "School of Supernatural Ministry" where students are encouraged to operate undercover at New Age/Psychic fairs: Are You More Religious Than Jesus?
Here's a screenshot of the article:
Global Awakening, which was founded by Randy Clark (a very close friend of Bill Johnson and Bethel) produced a movie called Witch City that features their students doing exactly the same thing as Christalignment:
Is Kris Vallotton going to write a Facebook post condemning Randy Clark's "psychic readers?" Nope. Randy Clark and Bill Johnson are teaching together at Bethel next month. For $139 you can listen to these supernatural experts, too.
So what does Vallotton eventually do? He deletes his entire post along with all the critical comments from Bethel supporters. This is how Super Pastors operate nowadays (just ask Michael Brown).
For much more detail on this breaking story, please check out these articles from ChurchWatch Central:
Bethelgate – looking under the rug of Bethel administration.
Hodge connects ChristAlignment to Bethel; Bethel retracts statement.
UPDATE TO THIS STORY!!
Not only has Kris Vallotton changed his story, the Christalignment Ministry website is erasing its tarot card language: The "Christian" Tarot Card Controversy at Bethel Redding
Here's something that false teachers hope you never see: Shocking Stuff you're Not Supposed to Know!
If you want to see how Kris Vallotton is a horrendous Bible twister, listen to this episode of Fighting for the Faith.