Michael Knowles had some video on his podcast of various fringe Evangelical leaders who have been commanding coronavirus to go away.
What do you think is going through their minds?
Some of them might actually believe that it will work. Okay. That’s fairly straight-forward and not all that interesting.
The prophets who interest me are the ones who are pretty sure that their declarations won’t do anything, but they’re doing them anyway.
Why?
First, what’s the short-term gain? Are their followers going to be impressed that they were so bold in their faith? Or have they painted themselves into a corner where this was their only possible option?
Second, what’s the longer-term game? When their words don’t come true, how are they going to explain that?
A lack of faith, probably. (On whose part?) Or maybe demonic activity. Or maybe God’s judgment.
What kinds of excuses do you think they have queued up to save face when coronavirus doesn’t obey them and run away?
QUOTE: The prophets who interest me are the ones who are pretty sure that their declarations won’t do anything, but they’re doing them anyway.
Are you referencing religious charlatans? If so, short-term, I think their thoughts focus on money and influence. They want to keep people coming to ensure their donations don’t dwindle and impact their lavish lifestyles. As well, they want people to “believe” they are more than what they actually are to feed their egos.
Long-term, I suspect they don’t worry about what people think. They give people a flimsy explanation or claim there’s a “new revelation” that supercedes the previous one…then they continue forward. Unfortunately, many of their devout followers either don’t remember and/or don’t hold them accountable for their false prophecies. They don’t question the false prophet because they really think he or she is authentic. For example, Benny Hinn has had multiple failed prophecies and exposed several times. Despite that, he still has a committed following over many years.
Overall, it’s a business for these types and that’s what motivates them to act and capitalize on moments like this. So, they continue to say and do whatever is necessary to keep it going.
That said, I hold the devoted followers of these charlatans accountable too. Christians are admonished in scripture to beware of false prophets and to study so they can discern what’s authentic from what’s false. Yet, many don’t learn about their faith in a deep and meaningful way. Given that, they are deceived by these charlatans. Some will even rigorously defend them, if they come under public or government scrutiny. Some will give money to their own detriment financially. Some will ignore sound medical advice if the false prophet advises them to do so. Sad but true. I can see why scripture indicates, “my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge“. Hosea 4:6.
I’m not convinced there’s a clear line between the charlatan who doesn’t believe and is cynically manipulating people and the guy who genuinely believes, and is sincere, but finds himself stuck in certain areas.
As a completely different sort of example, I could imagine a Catholic priest who sincerely believes, but doesn’t believe Jesus is really present in the mass. He goes along with it for other reasons, but he doesn’t actually believe it.
I’d say the primary difference between the two is motive. The first is motivated by selfish gain and uses deception to get what they want. The second is motivated by a desire to genuinely help and inspire others, despite having some doubts. As well, the impact on the parishioner could potentially be different. Both may inspire their followers to believe. Yet, the first may put them at risk of being significantly damaged in some way (e.g., financially, physical or mental health). With the second (in cases like you referenced), it doesn’t seem there would be as great of risk of severe negative consequences.
I doubt if we have enough data to enter into the mind of the likes of Isaiah. Historical empathy has its limits. But I definitely think that those guys on TBN are merely money grubbers. There’s nothing really interesting about them.
They might just be money grubbers, but I suspect it’s far more complicated than that. I suspect they have (or had) some sort of genuine faith, and their life is a confusing mixture of the pretend and the real.
In that case we get into psychology of the con artist. There could be a basic drive in the human soul to believe that it is the real deal.
Much of this is speculation because there’s no definitive way to know someone’s thoughts. Yet, like most aspects of human nature and behavior, it’s complex.
We can discern that some are charlatans and their motivation is purely selfish. Then, there are those who are motivated by genuine faith, who’s desire is to live out their faith authentically, despite not being perfect…even having some doubt. We see somewhat of an example of this where a man says to Jesus that he believes but asks him to help his unbelief (Mark. 9:23-24)
Again, for me, motivation seems to be a distinguishing factor. We get hints about motivation through behavior observed over time. As scripture says, a tree is known by its own fruit. A good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. (Luke 6:43)