A woman e-mailed us with the following invitation (which is now minus contact and biographical information):
Learn To Be Your Own Shaman
Tuesday, May 25 & All Tuesdays in June, ending on June 29, 2004
From 7:00p.m. to 9:00p.m. EDT
To be your own Shaman is experiential & active. You will learn to travel/journey to the beat of a drum to access your guides & helpers in ALL realms. The method is Universal & each participant will meet their plant, animal & stone guides in the “Lower” World; Their guide in Human form in the Upper World & their guides in the Middle World where we live now. Divination & Healing are a part of the series.
The Heart Beat of Mother Earth is the Drum Beat.
We will start with guided meditations to the drum, progressing to having the drum-beat only with our intentions/questions.
EXPERIENCE WALKING THROUGH YOUR FEARS, CHALLENGES & EMPOWERING YOURSELF WITH SOLUTIONS & HEALING.
Bring A Drum or Rattle if You Have One.
The Cost for the six (6) Sessions is $155.00
Everywhere we turn today answers are being offered for our spiritual edification, answers to enable us to lift ourselves by our own bootstraps, if that were possible. If you think it is, give it a try sometime. Meanwhile, what follows is our discussion of the proposal to become your own shaman:
Greetings, M., and to all on this list, peace to you in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ!
M., I am replying to your invitation openly, seeing it is a public affair. I know you are offering something you consider to be very good. So too, I am offering something I know to be far better. Otherwise, I would not write.
I want to firstly say that I appreciate you, M. This I think you know, but others might not understand where i am coming from. You have shown yourself to be honest to deal with, and you have helped others and me by introducing them to the Grander products. This has been good for everyone.
Now, many who call themselves by the Name of Christ have not been nearly so helpful, sometimes quite the opposite. But because some have given a bad name to the Lord and Savior by their own chosen ways and actions, doesn’t make Him wrong, or evil. Far from it, He still is the Savior of all men, though especially of those who believe.
So, how does this concern us if we would want to be our own shamans? What is the problem there?
We all would like to have powers to dispel our fears, to be empowered to master challenges and find solutions and healing for ourselves. What is wrong with that? Precisely, there is nothing wrong with wishing those results. It would be wonderful to have those things. The question is: how do we arrive there?
There are two basic answers. One is we do it ourselves, which comes under many names, shamanism being but one. The other is that God alone has this power, and we seek His will and submission to Him for everything, not being able ourselves to accomplish these things, or to even really know what needs to be accomplished in the first place. We are simply lost, and do acknowledge that the Almighty Creator knows the Way, and we therefore entrust our souls to Him.
Regarding the first way of doing it ourselves, it was with this proposition, in so many words, that Satan came to Eve in the beginning, tempting her with such powers. Speaking of eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, he said, “…then shall your eyes be opened, and you shall be as gods…”
However, there was one major difference. At that time there was no curse yet, no fears to escape, no solutions necessary to the predicaments and failures in which we now find ourselves. It was attractive solely on the basis of being as God, as having the power to be our own shamans.
Eve chose, unwittingly, to have power she didn’t need! How much more would we be tempted also to choose those powers, seeing we are in such great need now!
However, there is a better way, which is really the only way. God Himself made that way, in the Person of Jesus Christ, Who tasted death for all, that all might be delivered from the curse of sin and death, to which we have all become subject from the beginning, when Eve chose the way of death, and Adam followed her.
There was another Tree in the garden…the Tree of Life. Jesus said that if we ate His flesh, and drank His blood, we would have life. He is that Tree of Life. He is our God-given answer, the High Priest of God for our souls, to do for us what we can’t possibly do. Not one person can become shaman enough to deliver him or herself from death, not Buddha, nor Krishna, nor any of the Biblical prophets of old. All are dependent on the One and Only Name whereby all must be saved. Buddha is yet in his grave. Jesus Christ is not.
Our answer for everything is not from other spirits or ourselves, but from the Father of Spirits, Who for this cause sent Jesus Christ to bring us back to Himself, that we might have life, and that abundantly.
I will ask you this regarding spirit guides: Do you know with whom you are getting involved? People regularly get involved in bad relationships, whether romance, business, social, or spiritual, with others whom they can see and hear. How much more can you be deceived by spirits whom you can’t see!
But a person is deceived when his or her heart is not right. Now, there is only one way for your heart to be right, and that is to be reconciled to God, your Creator. And there is only one way you can be reconciled to your Creator, and that is through Jesus Christ. Turn to Him, repent, put your trust in the living God, and not spirits. Ask Him to do this for you, because this also is a gift from Him, to turn to Him. We must all learn completely that we simply don’t have the goods outside of Him. He alone is good.
If one is not reconciled with God through Jesus Christ, any spirits one encounters will be evil. They may be mean and insulting, or kind and flattering, though usually the latter, presenting some delectable pieces of information perhaps, but ever with evil intent. These spirits are there to ultimately seduce, deceive, steal, kill, and destroy. You can bank on it. Why? No good messenger will come without the favor and Lordship of Jesus Christ. If He, Jesus Christ as Lord, is out of the equation, so are all good messengers. That leaves only evil ones, including false Jesuses, guaranteed.
Taking this road with other spirits is like going into a hostile country without a passport. You have neither the protection of your native country, nor of the one you enter. And this new country does not practice the rule of law you may feel is your entitlement. Appearances aside, you are far more vulnerable, and without protection.
In taking or contemplating these other paths, you, who say that the Lordship of Jesus Christ is preaching exclusivity, are in grave error. I use the word “grave” advisedly; this is deadly error. What is so exclusive about the fact that God, in His great mercy and love, laid down His life for you, in Christ, without your proving yourself right, or doing a single, solitary thing for Him? He has included all in His sacrifice, precisely because all need it. None can save him or herself, or be their own shaman, or priest, or god, or be right in and of him or herself, now or ever. God, in Christ, has paid for you, and owns you. You are not your own, though for a time you may think and act this way.
There is none excluded because God has included all in His sacrifice of atonement. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” And, “As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive…” Not just one person or nation, but the entire world is reconciled to God by Christ. Not because we deserve it. We do not. We have all of us been wicked, and have all gone astray. When we come to see that, and receive His forgiveness, then we become free indeed.
That is the Life, and Light of all men. As long as we believe we have some kind of righteousness (or sufficient power) in and of ourselves, we are still eating of that Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and whether “New Age” or “Christian,” we are yet in our sins and reap accordingly. Death is the wages of sin, and sin is falling short of the law of God. The first law is to love the Lord your God, with all your mind, heart, and soul. You are to love the Lord your God, not just some imaginary god, or what you conceive to be God, but the real, living God. And this God is He Who has come in the Person of Jesus Christ, for your sake, to bring you the relief you seek and need. Believe Him; love Him, and not spirits or others who come in their own name.
We can only enter into the healing and fulfillment by God, our Creator. We have no other option. He has declared to us the Way, and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ, known in Hebrew as Yehoshuah HaMashiach.
“And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:19-20).
By the grace of God, and in His service, I write.
Paul
M.’s response to my letter:
Dear Paul,
Your email appalled me. This is private email list of people who asked to be on my list not yours. The fact that you would choose to respond to the whole group & not me personally also shows no respect for the people on the list.
The Christed One – Jesus, preached Peace, Brotherly Love. Your email was not about those things – It was about your judgement of me & what I do. The Attributes of Love are: Trust; Forgiveness; Respect; Compassion; Gratitude; Patience; Kindness & Generosity. Did your email demonstrate any of these attributes?
The Monday after Easter 2002, I participated in a Prayer Circle – The question that each of us was to pray about was – “What inside of me prevents Peace in the World” The answer was universal – Judgement, Judgement leads to attachment to outcome, which leads to Control which leads to Fear. Judgement is arrogant – How can any one person presume to know what is truly best for another.
Your right to believe as you choose is Respected. However we would hope that you would extend that very same Respect to others.
Paul, these are the very people I would have invited to meet with you regarding Grander Water. Do you think they will want to meet with you now? How would you feel if you were in my shoes?
There are no words to describe the overwhelming lack of Respect & Trust you demonstrated for me & my friends. All of whom asked to be on my mailing list.
Paul, actions always speak louder than words. I can only hope you send a blanket apology & delete everyone from your computer.
Respectfully,
M.
A fellow invitee responds to Paul’s letter:
Paul,
You presume too much to think that you have the right to proselytize in this manner to everyone on M’s distribution list. Others may say yes to your intrusion. That is their choice. I do not. Please remove me from your list as I now know you by your fruits.
S.
Paul’s reply:
S.,
Why would i not have the right to warn M., and you, and all the others of the dangers you are facing as it is being proposed in the invitation sent out to everyone? Why would you give M. the right to invite others into something dangerous (i do not at all say she does this wittingly), but not me the right to warn all of the danger? Was i not on the list of invitees? Would i not be guilty of blood to not speak up, knowing better? Is it a matter of rights or responsibility?
Paul
M. has this to say after Paul’s response to S.:
How Dare You? You are warning me of you!
Please remove me from your mailing list & everyone else on mine. Your carelessness is very upsetting to me. Please refer to my original email on the subject. Have you no boundaries of Respect?
Paul, you are only responsible for your self – not me or anyone else. Shamanism is about healing – not religion. An open mind & education go a long way – so before you warn people – educate yourself – ask questions from the source, me.
Do NOT have discourse with another as if I do not exist. How misogynist can you get? Jesus Christ preached equality. I suggest you educate yourSelf as to life & times of Christ as presented by Neil Douglas Klotz in the Hidden Gospel. He translates the original Aramaic into English. The God Code is a scientific document relating Arabic & Hebrew to Life & Creation – WE ARE ALL CONNECTED! What you do to one you do to yourself. Read Margaret Starbird’s works. Read history. Read how the Council of Nicea changed Jesus Christ’s Words & beliefs – Codified. The King James Version of the Bible is based on the Church of Peter & Paul – Women haters. It seems you are following your name sake.
You have my phone number if you wish to apologize.
Respectfully,
M.
Victor writes to M.:
Hi, M.,
I would like to respond to the letters you wrote to Paul.
I read through Paul’s letter thoroughly, and I do not find one unkind word in any of it. On the contrary, several statements, the tenor, and spirit of the letter argue loudly and plainly against your criticisms of him. It never ceases to amaze me how contradictory people with your kind of philosophy can be, and so blind to that self-contradiction. Who is judging whom here, and with what kind of judgment? You condemn Paul as a misogynist; you condemn Peter and Paul as woman-haters, you accuse those in the Council of Nicea of perverting or at least misinterpreting (likely the former) Jesus Christ’s teachings. Can you truly claim to be innocent of those very things you accuse Paul?
Jesus Christ, Whom you use as a model and authority, spoke these words:
“Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24).
He spoke of judging, but judgment of a right as well as a wrong kind. Let me ask you some questions here:
Do you know if Paul judges rightly or not? Are you judging righteous judgment? How do you know? It is apparent that you fault him as someone lacking certain virtues. Are those not “judgments”?
Why do you fault him? Is it because you “judge” to be more enlightened than he? Apparently. But are you indeed more enlightened? Are you offended because he tells you that you are in darkness? Obviously, you are offended…”appalled.” Is he offended because you are telling him he is in ignorance or lacking virtue? Not one whit, I can assure you, nor am I. Who is the guilty one, M.? Do you condemn Paul for his goodness to you and others? You speak of virtue. Where is yours?
One of the vices the Bible condemns, perhaps the primary one God hates, is pride. Are you offended that Paul addressed you publicly? If your action and stance are public, is he not permitted to address you publicly?
I ask you to consider Paul’s position in this whole situation, M.: His name was publicly listed in your letter offering your services. What if there were persons on that list who knew Paul, and seeing his name, would possibly assume that Paul might not disapprove of what you were teaching? There happened to be someone who did know him. What about those who do not know him? Would Paul be responsible?
You say to Paul that we are only responsible for ourselves. Jesus Christ taught the very opposite. Cain, who presumed to worship God by offering sacrifice, killed his brother. When confronted by God, Who asked, “Where is Abel, your brother?” Cain replied, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Are you not saying the same, saying, “Paul, you are only responsible for your self – not me or anyone else?” Are you not also acting as Cain, by “killing” Paul with stones of words, while professing to honor Jesus Christ?
Let me ask you this: If you pass into the next world, for the worse, by lacking truth, and find that Paul had truth, that he could have helped you better yourself, and withheld it from you and others, how would you feel toward him for that? Put it into this world: you are walking down a long desert road. Your car breaks down. Along comes Paul in his car, sees you, could help you, but instead passes you right by. You continue on, in the sun, without water, till you are nearly dead. Would you not consider that Paul could have done something for you? Do these things not warrant consideration?
Now you may argue that you are fine and he is in need. Are you fine? You think you are, and Paul thinks quite otherwise. Shall you fault him for his understanding, and for living by his convictions knowing full well he could offend you, and lose potential financial gain? Should he live by your convictions instead, and preserve potential Grander sales as you point out?
You sell your spiritual product; he gives his away, at the risk of losing financial gain. You both claim spiritual power, but which is true? You say he is judging. Are you not judging, in saying to him, “You are judging”?
The apostle Paul, whom you falsely accuse to be a woman-hater, knew and declared that he was a debtor to God and to every person, man and woman alike, because of the mercy and grace bestowed upon him by God. He owed, and he knew it. He labored hard to serve God, preaching everywhere the Spirit of God sent or permitted him to go. We owe, and it is incumbent upon us, by the grace God has granted us, to reach out to any and all. “Preach the gospel to every creature…teach all nations…” commanded Jesus. Apparently you will judge that the Council of Nicea distorted His words and perverted His true purposes.
Paul knows what he is talking about. He is in the Light, in the Kingdom, with Jesus Christ, Who is Light. Yes, he has his own personal weaknesses, his infirmities, as we all do, being flesh and blood, but he is in union with the Lord Jesus Christ, walks in His righteousness, and speaks out of revelation and personal knowledge of Him. You speak of the Lord Jesus Christ, but you have never known Him, or His will, or His ways. Your spirit and words, and lack of the true knowledge belie your comments and claims. Is it possible that we are now judging not after the appearance, which presumes, professes and appears to be good, but we judge righteous judgment, by the truth which Jesus Christ is, and which He has imparted to us?
You charge $80 or more per hour for your spiritual services. You put forth Jesus Christ as one you might emulate, or at least commend. When did He ever charge for what He gave? When did He once encourage or even suggest to His disciples to charge? He DID say to them: “Freely you have received; freely give.” You sent a letter to Paul, and others, offering your services, for a fee. Paul sent you and others a letter, offering sure value, freely. What are your fruits, M.? Are you offended because Paul was exposing your need for that which you presumed to be SELLING to others (spiritual fulfillment)? Were you offended because he was potentially neutralizing financial possibilities for you in that he wrote publicly to your “market”? You speak of generosity in your letter as a virtue. Where is yours to Paul, to those you wish to gain from, by that which should be free?
Before I go on to another topic, if you can bear it, let me lay some groundwork. You trust in certain sources for your judgments and conclusions of the veracity of the Scriptures. It is true that people have used them to say what pleased them or others, but the Scriptures themselves are quite reliable, superbly so. Even when discovering ancient manuscripts, in part or in whole, they have found those to be almost identical to the most recent ones in possession. Historically, we know there has been painstaking care taken by copyists to duplicate the original writings. Now, of course, you may call the possessors of those manuscripts, and translators, as those of the King James, and those of the Council of Nicea, liars, manipulators, or fools, as you imply in your letter. Is that “judging”?
You make a case for the fallibility of the Scriptures by your intellectual ways, believing fools…yes, ignorant fools…I do not use those “judgmental” terms loosely, because I know whereof I speak. Call that arrogance, while you shoot those like Paul down as though you were in a position to do so, by carnal wisdom and knowledge. I have had your kind of knowledge. I have studied history, religion, and more. But what is far more important, and by far the deciding factor, is that we KNOW the Lord Jesus Christ, personally, and He has revealed Himself to us, as well as the great power and glory of the Scriptures, His Word. This includes all of those books (letters) within it, written by Paul and Peter, whom you ignorantly condemn or “judge” as woman haters. They are no such thing. They each laid down their lives for men and women alike, including you. Who are you to judge them? These men shed their blood for you, and you condemn them as hating you. In so doing, you are partaker of those who shed their blood, and that of the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you aware of that? No.
The Bible is a complex, amazing, Living Book when illumined by the Spirit of God, Whom you have never known. There is no book like it. It is indeed the Word of God. When one knows the Lord Jesus Christ, one knows The Book. One knows truth, and wisdom, and has true knowledge, all by grace, and not by any self-virtue.
By the way, you do not refer to Jesus Christ as Lord. Only those who truly believe, love and obey Him can, and do so. As it is written:
“Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and [that] no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost” (1 Corinthians 12:3).
The first thing Jesus and His true disciples basically said to people was, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Was He judging? Was He teaching His disciples to “judge”? In telling people they needed to repent of their sins, they sought to save them, even as Paul has done with you and your associations. Jesus and His disciples had one authority to do so, and that was God in Jesus Christ. They condemned Him for the very thing of which you condemn Paul and me.
On your site you say Jesus learned in Tibetan monasteries. This is nonsense, and if you knew Him, you would not have to take my word for it.
You say you facilitate one’s experience with the assistance of “Mother, Father, God….” You have never known God, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ. You are playing with demons, M.. Paul told you so for your good, and now you throw his goodness in his face. And you demand an apology from him?
Consider your letter to Paul, and judge yourself, word by word:
“The Christed One – Jesus, preached Peace, Brotherly Love. Your email was not about those things – It was about your judgement of me & what I do. The Attributes of Love are: Trust; Forgiveness; Respect; Compassion; Gratitude; Patience; Kindness & Generosity. Did your email demonstrate any of these attributes?”
The apostle Peter addressed someone in the Book of Acts, whose name was Simon (a man, and not a woman), who also charged for his services, and used anything, including God to further his ends:
“Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, ‘Give me this power too, so that when I lay my hands on someone he will receive the Holy Spirit.’ But Peter said to him, ‘May your money perish with you because you thought you could obtain God’s free gift with money! You have no part or share in this matter, because your heart isn’t right before God. So repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, this thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you’re turning into bitter poison and that you’re being chained by wickedness!'” (Acts 8:18-23)
You offer connection with spiritual beings and yes, God, for a fee. You teach others that they can have fulfillment by purchasing it.
No doubt you will protest, and cut me off. I do not protest and cut you off. I am not threatened by anything you may have to say. The truth (Jesus Christ) has made me free. While Jesus Christ was cut off by many, He did not cut off any.
“In vain do they worship Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me” said Jesus of those whose words and deeds did not match.
The God you profess to represent calls what you do witchcraft. Witches, in His sight were to be burned. That is truly how serious He (not only we) judges your ways. Yet, in spite of you and your ways, Christ died for you, to save you from yourself and the powers of darkness that have deceived you to destroy you. You cannot despise the truth, His goodness, and escape. What Peter said to Simon, I say to you: Turn from your evil ways, as judged by God. We come in His stead and warn you. The warning is not in vain.
In His service,
Victor Hafichuk
M responds to Victor:
Thank you for your comments. Paul really does not need you to defend him.
Blessings to you both on your path.
Respectfully,
M.
Victor replies:
You are right that Paul does not need my defense. I did not reply for his sake. I wrote it for you. You are the one in need. Having spoken now, I leave it, unless the Lord chooses otherwise.
Victor