True Guilt by Association
Want to know what a teacher is all about? Look at his affiliations.
We are asked about Marino Restrepo:
What do you think of his testimony?
Paul answers:
Hi Ed,
We hadn’t heard of Marino until your email. I googled his name and see his testimony is rather long. If you want to hear what the Lord thinks of his testimony and preaching, read our section on Catholicism.
Marino is espousing the primacy of the Catholic Church, and teaches honoring its sacraments as of God and essential for salvation. Nothing could be further from the truth, which tells you that Marino isn’t serving the Truth, the Lord Jesus Christ. So who do you think he’s serving when coming in the Name of the Lord?
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15 ESV).
I also see that Marino purports to have been mystically transported to Heaven and hell. We review others who publicize similar lying visions, such as Mary Baxter: A Divine Revelation of Hell Debunked: An Outstanding Illustration of Orthodox Christianity’s Most Blasphemous Doctrine and Angelica Zambrano: An Alleged Visit to Heaven and Hell.
What did you think of Marino’s testimony, Ed, before reading these writings, and what do you think afterwards?
Paul
We didn’t hear back from Ed.
Here’s a useful principle you can take away from this short entry: If you’re wondering about the teachings of someone and don’t find them listed on our site, check their affiliation and see if we haven’t written about it, like Marino here with the Catholic Church.
If the person doesn’t have any obvious affiliation with an organization or school of teaching, you can also see if they’re associated with a person we’ve exposed. For example, we recently profiled someone who appeared on the Sid Roth show, all buddy-buddy with Sid. Any friend of Sid’s isn’t a friend of the Lord. True men of God aren’t unequally yoked with unbelieving “believers,” honoring them while dishonoring the Lord.
Finally, if there aren’t any of the above associations to investigate on our site, use The True Marks of a Cult and Diabolical Doctrines as sure guidelines to contrast with the teachings and behavior of the person in question. If they don’t resemble the Lord and His servants in the essential matters laid out there, it’s because they’re not of His company and should be avoided by all lovers of Truth.