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Theophostics
Critique on the book "Healing Life's Deepest Hurts" by Ed Smith
By Adam Bartlett
The book by Ed Smith, "Healing Life's Deepest Hurts" gives a basic overview of the Theophostic Ministry process and what its beliefs are. It amazes me the more that I study this doctrine just how deceitful and dangerous it is to the church. I know it is not usual to start at the end of a book but I want to start at the last chapter to make a point. It is in this last chapter that we learn that Mr. Smith himself admits that there is no biblical support for this teaching. That alone is enough to put this doctrine down and realize what it really is. I have many quotes from this book to make the points necessary for you to see how unbiblical it is. I do not have these materials because I will not purchase them and support this erroneous teaching. I did however borrow the information from someone that is an advanced counselor in this teaching. I also watched the four-video Basic Training Seminar and will be discussing that at the conclusion of this paper. I wanted to see this information for myself so that I could "Prove all things" as we are instructed to do in the Bible. The following is my personal critique on this book.
Mr. Smith admits in the following quotes from the book that there is "NO" Biblical support but then gives what he considers a situation in which he says Jesus Himself used the Theophostic principles on Peter. I will let you read the quotes and then I will sum it up.
Page 138 (chapter 7) "Theophostic Ministry can be found in subtle forms throughout the Bible." Are the principles of Theophostic Ministry listed or discussed in the Bible? No, the writers of the Bible did not have these concepts from which to draw any more than they did any other scientific or medical framework."
"Theophostic Ministry is not a new concept. What God is doing through this ministry process is the same as He has done throughout the ages."
Page 139 (chapter 7) "The Bible is full of examples of how God has operated within the principles taught in this approach to ministry." Then cites Matthew 26:31-35, Luke 22:54-62, and John21:15-22 as an example.
I urge you to read the scriptures he listed for yourself and see if you come to the same conclusion. The basic overview of this situation is this: Jesus told His disciples that He was going to Jerusalem and be crucified and then would rise again and that all of them would scatter. Peter makes the bold claim that he would stay with Him even unto death. Jesus then tells Peter that he will deny Him three times before the cock crows. Later after Jesus arose He appeared to the disciples and asked Peter three times if he loved Him in relation to the three times he denied Jesus. According to Mr. Smith this situation reveals the fact that Jesus was using the Theophostic principles to get Peter to realize he had some previous memory that caused him to deny Jesus.
Page 142 (chapter 7) "Let me explain how this passage reveals many of what I describe as Theophostic principles. First, Jesus exposed Peter's lie-based thinking. Peter's behavior is common to all of us. Something happens that triggers our lie-based thinking, which surfaces a negative emotion. Jesus' announcement of His forthcoming death triggered fear in Peter that he was unwilling to admit."
Page 143 (chapter 7) "I do not believe that Jesus did anything by chance. I believe that He intended to appear this third time to Peter in order to trigger the pain stored in Peter's mind concerning his denial of the Lord. It is also important to see how Jesus deliberately asked Peter three times if he loved Him. Even the Scriptures point this out when they say, "It hurt Peter to hear the Lord ask Him the third time." What was Jesus doing here? He was triggering and stirring up Peter's memory-based pain by way of association. This technique is taught in the Theophostic Ministry Advanced Seminar."
This is the most absurd twisting of Scripture I have seen in a long time and this should be obvious proof that this teaching is not only false, but dangerous. When a person has to twist a Scripture to make it fit a teaching or doctrine then that is a false teaching. It is something that we were warned about happening in our day.
1 Timothy 4:
1: Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Timothy 4:
3: For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4: And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
There are so many false teachings making their way into the churches today and among Christians that it is frightening and sad. There is such a lack today of serious devotion to the Word and Prayer that the church has opened the floodgates of deception to enter in. There is absolutely no discernment in churches or Christians because of a lack of zeal for true holiness and hunger for the truth. There is a desire for something more than the Word and Prayer because they take sacrifice and effort. We want an effortless way to obtain the spiritual desires that is why there are so many running to and fro the every meeting looking for some new thing. This doctrine and many more like it are the fruit of this frivolous pursuit of what can only be obtained by God's Word and Prayer and a sincere heartfelt devotion to them.
We will see that Mr. Smith does not place value on the Scriptures or prayer in this doctrine of his. When someone dismisses the power of Scripture and prayer it should be a giant red flag thrown in our face of caution. The following are Mr. Smith's own words on this subject.
On page 14 (the introduction) "During the ministry session, the Theophostic counselors don't give advice, quote Scripture, or tell the person in pain the truth, since this rarely has much impact."
Page 39 (chapter 2) "Those who believe that they can allow people to walk in freedom simply by supplying them with biblical truth gravely misunderstand what the Bible teaches and overestimate the power of self-determination and human willpower."
Page 40 (chapter 2) "More biblical truth and personal application of that truth will not result in true freedom, which is effortless. It may give us all the "right" answers, yet we will continue to suffer."
Page 72 (chapter 4) "most inappropriate behavior is motivated by lie-based pain. "Discipleship, teaching, and personal Bible study all play a part, but these things cannot accomplish this task on their own."
Page 86 (chapter 4) "Many counselors seek to change wrong beliefs by providing those they counsel with Scriptures or truth statements. Yet if we are honest, we know that this does not work."
According to Mr. Smith the Bible has the answers but it is not enough. It is very interesting that Joseph Smith, Joseph Rutherford, Muhammad, and many others have said the exact thing and in the process introduced what they said was needed to do what the Word alone could not do. By dismissing the ability of the Word you open the door for all kinds of other "ways" to be introduced and therefore administer heresies. The Bible is our foundation and is capable of all that we need for every Spiritual situation. We are told in John 1 that Jesus is the Word and that Word was made flesh and dwelt among us so to say the Word is not enough is saying that Jesus is not enough. Consider the following:
2 Timothy 2
15: Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Hebrews 4
12: For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
2 Timothy 3
15: And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
The Bible makes it clear that the Word is capable of doing all that we need to make us all that God intends for us to be. Read Psalm 119 and see how many times the Word is emphasized as being the only source we need. In Ephesians 6: 10-17 where Paul lists the Christian Armor that is needed in our spiritual walk he indicates that what is needed to protect our mind is the "helmet of salvation" which is the Word of God. In Ephesians 5:26 it says that Christ sanctifies and cleanses us with the Word. It opens all the wrong doors when someone says that the Word is not enough. As Christians we should have no part of this doctrine but rather expose it for what it really is. It is bad enough that Mr. Smith does not see the Scriptures as sufficient, but he also diminishes prayer unless it is done under the confines of the Theophostic pattern.
Page 91 (chapter 4) "Based on these and my own experience of being prayed for, I have found that often not much change usually occurs. Does this mean that prayer does not work, is unnecessary, or is impotent? No, prayer does work when it is applied within the proper context and in biblically supportive applications."
Page 93 (chapter 4) "we should look to the Scriptures and see how we are to pray, under what circumstances, and for what purposes, rather than using prayer as a "fix-all" approach to ministry. Maybe God doesn't intend for us to pray our pain and difficulties away. Maybe He wants us to find the true source of our emotional pain, face it, and embrace it, and in this context discover His truth and lasting freedom."
Page 94 (chapter 4) "We as a church have misinformed the wounded when we have communicated that if they would come with their pain and allow us to pray things would get better."
You see how easy it is to introduce strange doctrines when you disassemble the foundation and introduce new methods. I find it quite ironic that Mr. Smith makes the statement that prayer should be looked at in the scriptures to see how we are to pray. He contradicts himself over and over with statements such as this. How can you look at the scriptures to see how to pray when your teaching does not think the scriptures are important or most importantly you have absolutely zero Biblical support for the doctrine? After all when the Bible tells us to "pray without ceasing" it was obviously indicating that we do it through Mr. Smith's Theophostic pattern! How absurd and hopefully you can see the importance of rightly dividing the Word.
You can see the pattern emerging, first, the Bible is not enough and then prayer is not useful unless it is done in the confines of this teaching. After all, according to Mr. Smith it only through his program that we can get to the place spiritually we should be and not through study and prayer.
Page 15 (introduction) "Theophostic Ministry is simply a systematized model or avenue by which we can move to a place where God can accomplish what only He can accomplish."
It is amazing the contradictions in this teaching; for example, Mr. Smith claims that this teaching will accomplish "Complete Healing" yet we see that it may take your whole life even with this process.
Page 27 (chapter 1) "Day by day, we visited memory after memory, for hours on end, walking through some of the most horrific experiences that can be imagined."
"Mind renewal is a lifelong journey as God continually exposes our lie-based thinking so He might release us with His truth."
Page 44 (chapter 2) "Let me say clearly that Theophostic Ministry will not result in complete recovery of all wounds in a single session….I have been actively pursuing my own mind renewal using Theophostic ministry for over six years…. Where is the finish line for this process? When does a person become completely whole? Mind renewal is a lifelong journey. The finish line is at one of two places: when we die or when the Lord returns."
Of course there is something to consider at this point, each session is at a cost and not free so if it were to heal you completely in one session, well you get the point. I am sure that Mr. Smith is quite wealthy as a result of this new teaching. I am sure that all those that become counselors are not doing this out of the goodness of their hearts either. It also shows the hypocrisy of this doctrine to first state that the Bible is not enough and prayer is only good if done through their pattern yet their approach takes a lifetime to work. Mr. Smith says that Jesus never offered partial or tolerable recovery yet he does the same thing with is teaching.
Page 39 (chapter 2) "Jesus didn't offer people tolerable recovery. When Christ healed people, the healing was always complete and total."
He is right about one thing, Jesus does offer "complete and total" healing and it is found in the faith which is derived from the Word and prayer. According to Mr. Smith the redemption is not the question though but how it is applied. I didn't know there was multiple ways to apply redemption.
Page 65 (chapter 3) "The cross of Jesus was sufficient for all our sins and emotional wounds, but sins and wounds must be dealt with differently. The trouble is not in the effectiveness of the redemption, but rather in the application of the redemption."
Mr. Smith takes the liberty to separate what areas the blood of Jesus will cover and what areas need further cleansing through his teaching. This is yet another of his contradictions of the truth to make it fit into his new doctrine. This is only proof of the lukewarmness of many Christians that are willing to embrace anything that sounds good rather than proving a doctrine as the Bereans. This teaching is laced with New Age teaching and it only takes a little attention to see it. According to this teaching it is not your fault but you are a victim of your past memories and circumstances. It takes away all necessity of personal accountability and places it on lies the enemy has placed in your memories. How convenient for us that there is no need for repentance but all we have to do is go through Theophostic counseling to get these memories dealt with.
Page 22 (chapter 1) "focus on the emotional pain and follow the emotional "smoke trail" back to the memories that were the source of that pain."
Page 29 (chapter 1) "Every person on the face of this earth is carrying some level of pain. We have all been infested with lie-based thinking. If you become aware of how you are feeling throughout the day, you will begin to pick up on when your lies are being triggered. For example, when that fellow gets your parking place at the shopping center, be aware of what you are feeling."
Page 31 (chapter 1) The basic principles of Theophostic ministry, principle two states, "Everything we know, feel, or are mentally aware of has its roots in a first-time experience"
Page 63 (chapter 3) "Putting our past behind us fails to recognize that everything we do in the present is dependent on the past. Memory is the primary resource from which we live our present life."
Page 64 (chapter 3) "Every present thought is connected or linked to our past at some level. This is simply the way that God designed our brains to work."
Page 95 (chapter 4) "Think over the last few weeks. Were there any moments in which you were frustrated, stressed, angered, worried, anxious, taxed, upset, fearful, hateful, argumentive, defeated, or pressured? If so there was probably a lie at the source of these emotions."
Not only is it not your fault but God designed our brains to work in this manner! Wow, what a relief, to know that everything we do is not our fault but just some bad memory surfacing. Isn't it amazing that for two thousand years man was condemned to suffer under this condition until now when God finally decided to reveal this secret teaching to Mr. Smith? It is very unfortunate for those the last few thousand years that had to suffer and only rely on the Scriptures and Prayer when they were inadequate. According to Mr. Smith and this new revelation there are many that could have been freed if only they had his teaching sooner! According to what Mr. Smith proclaims in his doctrine instead of Paul writing Romans 7 he should have just outlined the Theophostic principle.
I pray that you are able to see the dangers of this teaching and how ridiculous it is when compared with what the Bible says. This is a teaching that has no place in the church or with any Christian. The Bible makes it clear that "Judgment will begin at the house of God" and in light of that we need to be cleansing all the false teachings from among us. Just the fact of all the erroneous teachings that have entered the church in the last 10-20 years should be enough for us to see that we are at the end of time. We do not have time to sit back and wait for the next Martin Luther to come along and expose the errors of our faith. We all must become Bereans and diligently search out the Word and expose the works of the enemy as we are commanded to do in Ephesians 5:11. It is not always easy to do this and you are not always going to be well accepted for it. Regardless it is time and it is a dire necessity within the Christian world. If we do not act now we can only sit back and see more and more false teaching enter in as wolves in sheep clothing. Look at the statement from Mr. Smith and then try saying that this is not just another New Age doctrine.
Page 81-82 (chapter 4) "in life situations, experiential knowledge tends to override logical truth. This is why people who administer Theophostic counseling ask the person undergoing ministry what "feels" true, as opposed to what is true."
Conclusion
I have seen the results of this doctrine on people I know and care about. I have seen how this doctrine has branched out and its principles used in other areas. It is dangerous and is growing extremely fast in the church and Christian world. I have watched the four-tape basic seminar which is what is used to train new counselors. I didn't even touch on the demonic applications of this program which are even more disturbing. Mr. Smith teaches that we are to dialogue with demons and even states that God may be using them to accomplish the counseling. I know personally of a woman that used his methods and went around "feeling" for demons and basically inviting them. She was overcome and basically possessed by the very demons she invited in through this process. I witnessed another woman who was at a house to pray demons out of the house say that the power of Jesus' name was not powerful enough to cast them out from one place. According to her we needed to go through the entire house and chase them from room to room until we had them cornered and then we could get them out.
I confronted a pastor who was using the Theophostic principles and told a man dying of cancer that God had told him that he was going to be healed and live. Two weeks later the man died and this minister said maybe God changed His mind. The same minister had been working with a lady for over two years casting demons out of her. What a mockery of the power of Jesus' Name. These are only a few of the examples I have witnessed of what this ministry can do to Christians, there are many more. We are told numerous times throughout the Scriptures that we are going to suffer and that we should expect it. According to this teaching that is not true, all of our sufferings are from some previous memory. I guess what it comes down to is either believing the Word or this teaching and I will always choose the Word. I would like to leave you with some questions concerning this doctrine. According to this doctrine "Everything" stems from something in our past and is the root behind all pains, emotions, fears, healing, and basically everything we experience. If that is the case then what does this teaching do with the following:
1. Those born with birth defects
2. Those born retarded or with some mental ailment
3. Did Jesus need Theophostics because He questioned God in the Garden asking for the cup to be passed if possible?
4. If Jesus supposedly used the Theophostic principle on Peter as Mr. Smith asserts then why didn't Jesus teach this concept to the disciples?
5. Obviously if Jesus thought it was necessary and the only way of true and complete healing then why did He not instruct it to be used?
6. Why did we have to wait until 1996 for it to be revealed to mankind?
The reality is quite disturbing and the rapid growth of this false teaching is very alarming. I pray that this simple teaching has opened your eyes to the truth behind this doctrine. I also pray that many more Christians become burdened about this doctrine and expose it to as many as possible. Please use any information I have on this site and distribute it to anyone you know caught in this teaching. I will also be putting audio teachings on the site soon.
God bless, Adam
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