Second Protestant Reformation
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By: Sylvia MacEachern

The Toronto Blessing/Holy Laughter phenomenon infecting Roman Catholic clergy and laity, is so closely identified with the worldwide chain of Vineyard Fellowship churches that the phrase, "the Vineyard," has become synonymous with "the Blessing." This because the Toronto Blessing got both its kick start and name in Toronto when Randy Clark (pastor of a Vineyard church in St. Louis, Missouri), spent three months speaking and "ministering" at Toronto’s Airport Vineyard church. It happened this way....

Randy Clark had previously contracted "the Blessing" from Rodney Howard-Browne (see Part I, The Orator, Vol.6/i). In a fashion typical to those so ‘blessed,’ Clark proceeded to pass it on, first to his own congregation, then to other Vineyard church leaders. When word of what was transpiring reached John and Carol Arnott (John Arnott is pastor at the Toronto Airport Vineyard), Clark was promptly invited to speak and "minister" at the Toronto Airport Vineyard for four days. Those four days commenced 20 January 1994 and extended to three months! The outbreak of bizarre manifestations and "signs and wonders" associated with that time caused the phenomenon to be dubbed "the Toronto Blessing."

John Arnott and his wife Carol were delighted to discover that, contrary to their fears, the "signs and wonders"
associated with the Blessing continued unabated after Randy Clark’s departure. In fact, word of the Blessing was
traveling throughout the world and people were arriving in droves to observe and experience this reported

‘revival."

One’s attention tends to focus quite naturally on the plethora of bizarre outward manifestations associated with the Toronto Blessing. And, given the nature of those phenomena, that’s certainly understandable, even necessary. But, there’s more to the Toronto Blessing than being pinned to the floor with "holy glue," barking like a dog, roaring like a lion, oinking like a pig, prancing like a deer, popping up and down like a pogo stick (pogoing), laughing hysterically, rolling on the floor, and "doing carpet time."

There’s the Blessing’s wildfire transmission. There’s the Vineyard links to a group previously charged with
"charismatic heresy." There’s Vineyard teaching.

Each shall be dealt with later. But first, an eyewitness account of a Vineyard conference.

So what exactly are the signs, wonders and manifestations which transpire during Vineyard-style worship?

Answers to that question might be deduced from books and literature detailing the outrageous and unbelievable antics of the "blessed." But, sometimes seeing is believing. To that end, this writer attended a recent three day Vineyard conference, "The Father Loves You!" held in Ottawa (Tudor Hall Inn, 30 March-l April 1995).

Now, proponents of the Blessing forever caution, "Don’t focus on the manifestations." They then launch into varied accounts of how "God showed up" or "God came" ( popular expressions) to any given gathering. And, in offering proof that "God showed up" they recount the state of pandemonium and bedlam that ensued! The greater the pandemonium, the more convinced proponents are that "God came" and really blessed them with His "manifest presence (meaning that God’s immediate presence is experienced). This "presence," they claim, evokes the manifestations.

So, when in excess of a thousand people — many Roman Catholics included — turned up to attend all or parts of "The Father Loves You!" conference, the mood of expectancy was understandably high. Proponents were there hoping that God would "show up." The curious were there to observe. All (male and female, young and old) were dressed for the occasion in jeans or casual slacks. Such attire, one soon discovers, is the only appropriate dress for Vineyard-style worship.

The format for each session differed little and seems to be the Vineyard norm. There are three distinct phases.

First: rock music. Each session started with a live band strumming, drumming and singing for approximately 45 minutes.

Second: the teaching. In this instance the teacher/guest speaker was Ed Piorek from Mission Viejo, California. Mr. Piorek told us what a great impact the movie Field of Dreams had on him. He psychologized. He informed us that God told him: "You are my son. I love you and you can never fail." He declared variously that:

Jesus has been revealed since the Reformation; Jesus was baptised because He needed "a tangible assurance of the Father’s love"; there has to be restoration of the father’s love so we can be like Jesus and the Father can pour out His power on us. He informed us that, from the time of Adam, all earthly fathers have sinned by not representing God the Father properly to their children; therefore children can’t relate to God the Father and experience His love; therefore we have to forgive our earthly father for misrepresenting God the Father and then we’ll be free to know the Father’s love.

Third: "ministry." Until now, the odd person could be seen twitching and jerking, falling off chairs, or lying spread-eagle on the floor. There were also a fair few outbreaks of "holy laughter" —even during Piorek’s talk. But ministry time is when things really start to happen. Now the oft’ talked of "manifestations" were to be witnessed in profusion.

"Signs and Wonders"

Even when anticipated, the animal and sundry sounds emitted during "ministry" are startling. Throughout three days of ministry sessions, people were variously shrieking like banshees, wailing like paid mourners, crying like babies, barking like dogs, clucking like chickens, crowing like roosters, hissing like snakes oinking and grunting like pigs, and roaring like lions. Someone even emitted sounds akin to sparks sizzling and snapping from an electric wire.

For three days, both the visual and auditory senses were alternately stimulated, entertained and offended during "ministry." Large numbers of people twitched, tremored, jerked and gyrated. Sometimes these contortions started without any visual form of human aid, at other times it initiated when individuals were prayed over by a ministry team (teams of two — a pray-er and a "catcher" were dispatched throughout the crowd). As the praying continued, the jerking and twitching accelerated. "More! More! More! Give him moreLord Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill him Lord," was the familiar prayer refrain.

There were lots for the eye to see. One astounding scenario involved a man walking to the front of the hail to "minister." Suddenly, he pitched forward and fell down. Promptly upon hitting the floor, he broke out into gales of "holy laughter." Another man was passing by. The one on the floor reached up; they touched hands. Down went the second man beside the first (he actually cracked his head on a baby walker as he went down!). Both were now laughing hysterically. Along came a woman. The first man reached out; he barely touched the woman’s ankle. Down she went beside the two. And, yes, she too promptly broke out into gales of "holy laughter."

Then there were those who were "pogoing." And the woman who appeared to be having the sexual experience of her life.

There was the young man who looked and sounded ever so much like The Lion King. He alternated between emitting deep guttural lion roars, to trying to extricate himself from the floor, to discovering he was pinned down, to breaking out laughing when he couldn't get up, to roaring again. Eventually, between the "holy glue," the laughing, and the roaring, he managed to sort of crawl to the wall. By now he was "inebriated." He looked and acted drunk, very drunk. The poor fellow tried desperately to get to his feet by bracing his tottering body against the wall. Up he’d get, maybe half way, then, in a "drunken" stupor, pause to take stock of the situation; down he’d go again, slithering awkwardly back onto the floor.

Scattered throughout the disorderly throng, there were those who were getting batted around by some unseen force. They were literally being hit, each invisible blow sending their bodies or parts of their bodies reeling in a new direction. Smack! — the upper torso reels forward. Smack! — the torso is slammed backed. Smack! —the torso reels to the left. Smack! —the head is slammed forward. One young attractive woman with dark flowing hair was getting batted around at an unbelievable rate. At times all that could be seen through the crowd was a mane of long hair flying through the air. First it would whip through the air in one direction. Moments later, the hair was seen whipping off in another direction. All the while, her ministering team members were beside themselves with laughter! The two of them could barely stand up!

In short order, there were bodies in the aisles, bodies over chairs, and bodies under chairs. Chairs were quickly stacked and removed to facilitate the growing numbers of those being prayed over, "resting in the Spit,"soaking" and literally littering the floor.

By Saturday afternoon things had reached a fever pitch. Virtually everyone was reduced to a state of constant laughing, twitching and gyrating — including the ministry teams. Those who were pray-ers and "catchers" were off somewhere in La La Land. They couldn’t stand still. It defies description.

True enough, not everyone goes down, and not everyone makes animal noises, or becomes "inebriated." But, at this conference, an awful lot did. In fact, true to form for Vineyard worshippers, many go back for a second or third round in the same session.

The whole three-day event was an all-out assault to both sanity and senses. This assault was merely exacerbated when Father Roger Vandenakker (St. Mary’s) and Deacon Jim Heffernan (St. John the Apostle) were spotted toiling alongside the many preauthorized "ministry" teams (Father Vandenakker was the pray-er; Deacon Heffernan was the catcher).

The Roman Catholic contribution to the ignoble happenings continued at floor level. One St. John the Apostle parishioner was spotted twitching and jerking her way to the front of the hall. She was later spotted twitching, jerking and breaking into gales of "holy laughter" on the floor.

At one session, Mrs. Heffernan (the deacon’s wife) was nearly tripped over as she occupied the thoroughfare at the back of the hall. She was "doing carpet time" — oblivious to those who were forced to step over or around her. There she lay, — hands perched up in the air like a little puppy dog.

One day later, the Deacon himself was discovered "doing carpet time" — in a posture somewhat unbecoming to human dignity and the diaconate! He later managed to assume a more dignified sitting position — rather dazed looking — but much more dignified.

To say that the Roman Catholic input left a few Roman Catholics aghast is putting it mildly. And, judging by the popularity and spread of the Blessing within the Roman Catholic charismatic community, Catholics can expect to have their sensibilities even more offended in the future. The certainty of this is heightened given that Vineyard teachers promise even more profound "signs and wonders" in the future.

One can hardly bear to speculate what "more" of this chaos can bring. Priests dropping the Sacred Host or spilling the Precious Blood during an attack of Holy Laughter?

One source offers a conservative estimate that within nine months 90,000 people had attended the Toronto Airport Vineyard. Of those, 30,000 attended for the first time, and "over 4,000 pastors, spouses and leaders from across North America, Britain, Chile, Argentina, Switzerland, France, Germany, Scandinavia, South Africa, Nigeria, Japan, New Zealand and Australia have come to receive the outpouring."’ Virtually every Christian denomination has been represented in those numbers — including, we now know, Roman Catholic.

The October 1994 Catch the Fire Conference held in Toronto drew twenty five hundred participants from twenty countries. It was aimed specifically at pastors and leaders (included in that "multitude" were Fathers Roger Vandenakker and Dennis Hayes of Ottawa.)

Since Holy Laughter is said to be contagious or infectious, those who are "blessed" — especially pastors and leaders who are singled out for special Vineyard leaders’ sessions — typically return to infect their home congregations. Hence, one can only guesstimate the thousands upon thousands of poor souls worldwide who have, by now, been exposed to and infected with the Toronto Blessing. And, since each "blessed" person is capable of infecting another, it just goes and on and on and on like a plague.

Furthermore, if one is to believe the bizarre scenarios recounted by British author/editor and "Holy Laughter" proponent Dave Roberts, even the most unwitting and unlikely candidates become infected.

In order to put the following scenarios in their proper context, it must be understood that many of those who are "blessed" have a peculiar habit of breaking out into gales of uncontrollable laughter — often at the most inopportune times. Such was the scenario when, according to Roberts, a woman driving her car was listening to Rodney Howard-Browne on the radio. (Howard-Browne is the South African evangelist who is credited with triggering this epidemic.) The said woman was overcome by laughter and, it seems, her ability to navigate her vehicle deteriorated. The next sequence is quite straightforward: the woman’s driving was a little erratic; a policeman spotted her; the policeman was convinced she was drunk. Then the story takes a strange twist, which, if factual, proves the potency of the "blessing." When the policeman touched the woman as he tried to remove her from the car, "he began to laugh and was unable to do anything for several minutes." Once he had regained his composure and Howard-Browne had reached his appeal stage on the radio, the policeman, a "backslider Pentecostal," began to weep and the woman "led him back to the Lord." 2

The second account is similar. In this instance a woman was asked to take a breathalyzer test and, we are simply told: "as she blew into the bag, the policeman fell to the ground laughing."

No doubt it was incidents such as these, which prompted the following headline in The Daily Telegraph (London, England, 20 Nov. 1994): "The Blessed shall not drive cars.

Now for some interesting background on the Vineyard.

Since the Toronto Blessing is endorsed by, promoted by, and spreading through the world via the chain of Vineyard Fellowship churches, it is relevant and most revealing to take a look at the Vineyard, and, in particular, its affiliation with a group charged with "charismatic heresy."

What is now referred to as "the Vineyard" has its origins in 1977 when one John Wimber, a former evangelical Quaker and former manager of the Righteous Brothers, founded the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Anaheim (California).⁴

As the Vineyard grew, so did question regarding its doctrine. By 1985, when the chain had swelled to 120 churches, the Christian Research Institute (CR1) studied the organization and issued a statement regarding their findings. Although the CR1 examines such groups from a purely Protestant and mainly evangelical perspective, their findings are noteworthy.

The CR1 found various positive things to say regarding the Vineyard (i.e., sound doctrine in most areas and basically operating in keeping with those things which would qualify it as a "sound Christian church". However, the CRI also found negatives.  Some of the problems which CRI identified then, are pertinent in light of the direction the Vineyard would take in future years.  Those are: an overemphasis on the "role of experience," a willingness to "assume that whatever transpires in their midst is of God", a lack of any written statement of faith; and an avoidance of setting strong doctrinal standards.

Then, in May 1990, John Wimber made an extremely controversial move. He allowed a group known as the Kansas City Fellowship (KCF, often referred to as the Kansas City Prophets) to join the Vineyard and come under his leadership.

KCF, founded in 1982 by one Mike Bickle (now a vocal and oft’ quoted proponent of "the Blessing"), was a controversial group even in charismatic/Pentecostal circles. The Kansas City Prophets were renown for giving wild "end-time" prophecies and for promoting the emergence of a "new breed" of end-time prophets. There were also stories circulating about KCF pastors experiencing angelic visitations, visiting Heaven and Hell, seeing auras around people, and receiving revelations from God. So outrageous were KCF teachings and prophecies to evangelical ears, that, shortly before the Vineyard/KCF merger, one charismatic leader charged KCF with "charismatic heresy." The group was also charged with teaching the "heresy" of another highly controversial group, the Latter Rain. 6

The Latter Rain, a "revival" movement originating within the Assemblies of God in North Battleford, Saskatchewan (1948-52), taught a doctrine called — interestingly — The Manifest Sons of God. This doctrine teaches that God will restore the offices of apostles and prophets; He will restore ‘the church’ to its intended position of power; many people will leave their denominational churches; under the authority of apostolic churches, believers will start to be perfected and mature into the full stature of Christ; at this time these "sons of God" will be fully manifested on earth; these sons will be equal to Jesus Christ — immortal, sinless, perfected sons who have partaken of the divine nature. ~ A most pertinent component of Latter Rain teachings is its prophecies that a "Second Pentecost" was to begin in Canada in 40 years (1989-1992!). The Assemblies of God officially rejected the Latter Rain teachings in 1949 as heresy.

John Wimber concurred that there were problems with KCF theology, and to that end put out a belated 15-point statement listing the errors he found. This occurred one month after the KCFlVineyard merger had transpired! Despite the statement, many were skeptical and feared that KCF theology would infiltrate and damage the Vineyard fellowship. Skeptics held variously that Wimber had: already been affected by KCF; been urged by Bickle back in 1988 to consider changing the Vineyard’s emphasis to than of a prophetic ministry; already introduced the new prophetic style ministry to the Vineyard in a 1989 edition of his periodical Equipping the Saints; affirmed, like KCF, that the "new breed" of prophets need not be accurate when prophesying; already featured many KCF "prophets" at a massive February 1990 Vineyard conference (9,000 with 4,000 turned away).

By late 1994, 400 Vineyard churches were scattered across theUnited States alone. Of those, the Toronto Blessing had influenced an estimated 60%. Vineyard conferences became synonymous with the Blessing. Internet newsgroups were a-buzz with Vineyard/Blessing/Holy Laughter talk.

But not everyone in the Vineyard was enamoured with the Toronto Blessing. The outlandish "manifestations" and the total disorder, which prevails at Blessing events, in fact, disturbed many. There was trouble in the ranks.

In short, as the phenomenon spread, it brought with it a deluge of division and confusion. Pastors and congregations were leaving the Vineyard fellowship — and the Vineyard’s international leadership was pressed to do damage control. To that end, in September 1994, the Board released a very gently worded nonbinding report urging caution.

Simultaneously, Wimber issued a statement addressing the animal noises and lion roaring phenomena. He noted that in the past 15 years certain phenomena were presumed to be demonic in origin, and that attempts were made to cast demons out of persons who made "animal noises" — sometimes without success. Having said that, his amazing conclusion was that perhaps in the past "we’ve had a simplistic view of all of these kinds of things. These new phenomena and their apparent ‘fruit’ has been a circumstance that has caused me to stop and think and review again." 12

Meanwhile, as Wimber stops to think and review again, Vineyard teachers and proponents cast caution to the winds.

And the Toronto Blessing spreads. And Vineyard churches thrive. And the heterodox Vineyard theology proliferates.

First, it needs to be mentioned that Vineyard proponents go to inordinate lengths to justify the "signs and wonders," declaring that this is a fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy and that God uses these to "grab our attention." And all the while they strive to give this whole crazy mess an aura of human respectability. In that regard. two names receive undue attention: Johnathon Edwards (1703-1758) and John Wesley (1703-1791).

Protestants of all denominations hold both men in fairly high esteem. And both receive frequent and very honorable mention in Vineyard literature. You see, Edwards and Wesley led and preached revivals, which produced phenomena quite like those of the Toronto Blessing. Therefore, both names arc used freely; the inference — sometimes stated — is that these godly, God-fearing men experienced such "signs and wonders" themselves and would be thrilled with the shenanigans going on in Toronto and elsewhere.

How thrilled either one would be is subject to question, and subjective interpretation. However, what is rather pertinent and tends to go unsaid is: (1) the beginning of the end of a revival known as The Great Wakening (1735-1742) came when Johnathon Edward’s uncle cut his own throat and died instantly. As one report says: "The town was aghast; the spell was broken and the revival over.~’ 13 (2) Wesley could never quite decide if the manifestations he observed were diabolical or from God. If Wesley was preaching, he concluded they were from God. If they occurred in another church, he concluded they were diabolical. 14

But that’s perhaps a minor point. The real nub of the Vineyard inevitably comes down to its teachings.

There are several traits, which characterize all Vineyard teaching:

Abhorrence of intellect: "You can’t explain this out of the Bible. He’s chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.. .The world despises it when we lose control. The world loves intelligence. The world worships intelligence. And God is in the business today of bypassing our minds and doing something that cannot be explained in rational terms. And it offends the mind. It offends the mind when He does that." Inordinate focus on experientialism coupled with justification for chaos and disorder: "In seeking to evaluate what is taking place at the Airport Vineyard, we must understand that the manifest presence of God IS highly subjective. It IS experiential. It IS, often, emotional. And, it IS typically messy." 16 (emphasis in the original)

Preparation or the "blessed" for ridicule: "...for the days are coming, says the Lord, when a great division will begin in the church, and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household, and your parents will criticize you, and speak evil of you, and say they have lost you to a cult. And your sons and daughters will say: My parents have gone crazy. And there will be mourning in the house of God." 17

Veiled threats directed at those who don’t climb aboard the Holy Laughter bandwagon: "I also sensed from the Lord an extreme danger for leaders who continue to [resist] the Holy Spirit."

"I know this isn’t a new revelation, other people have said this, but I do believe that it’s true, that God is going to be taking some leaders up to heaven rather than to continue to allow them to mislead God’s people."

Disdain for tradition: "What is happening right now — God is pouring out His Spirit and He’s saying, ‘No more business as usual.’

The time is over when we can just continue to be led by tradition. Tradition is fine. Tradition can be very good. It can be incredible stepping stones from looking at the past. . . but there comes a time when it doesn’t matter whether tradition is 500 years old, 50 years old, or even five months old, there comes a time where if tradition replaces the leading of the Holy Spirit, it can actually be a demon thing." 20

Rationalization for loss of free will: "John Arnott often reminds those gathered that there is no Scriptural basis for the common belief that ‘the Holy Spirit is a gentleman, and does nothing without our consent."’ 21

Encouragement for leaders to yield to the manifestations:

"Leaders in the 90s can’t be concerned about their reputations. If you’re worried about your reputation, forget it." ‘~

Subjectivity: "I believe the biblical definition [of humility] is being flexible." 23

"My experience is when the Lord does something with people’s feet He’s anointing them for radical evangelism. Their feet begin to bounce and sometimes they’ll start to bounce up and down uncontrollably.

Promotion of a syncretic one world religion ‘There is going to be a move of the Spirit of God on [Toronto] that is going to include powerful signs and wonders, such as the early days of the Church in Jerusalem. There is also going to be leaders raised up in the Body of Christ that are going to move in an authority that will be trans-denominational. They will be pastors of pastors, and will be recognized as spokesmen and leaders for the government of God in the Body of Christ across (all) denominational lines." ~

‘Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." (St. Matthew 16: 18)

Vineyard folk don’t quite see it that way. They talk of needing new wineskins for their new wine. And they make constant references to "th&church" or "the.Church." It quickly becomes clear that the latter phrases are used very loosely and do not refer to anything, which remotely resembles "the Church", which, for Roman Catholics, is a designation exclusive to the Roman Catholic Church. As a matter of fact, Vineyard teaching makes it abundantly clear that this movement is about them — not Christ — building "a church" upon the rock, which is Christ — not Peter!

From such flawed interpretation of Sacred Scripture, things can only go downhill.

One popular Vineyard theory accuses the early Fathers of the Roman Catholic Church of squelching the spiritual gifts such as prophecy and healing. The theory goes that it was St. Augustine who started this move and laid the groundwork for what they call Cessationism. It continues by saying that the focus on redemptive sufferings prompted by desert ascetics caused the "ministry of healing" to be downplayed! The final crunch came, according to the theory, when St. Thomas Aquinas developed a solid system of logic which refuted the subjective transmission of knowledge, thereby deeming "dreams, visions and spiritual gifts" as unacceptable!

Another core teaching is that of "birthing." Birthing, we are told, is a reference to St. Matthew 24:8 and "the beginning of birth pangs" 28 signifying end times. According to Vineyard teachers, these birth pangs, or contractions, started with Luther and "each spiritual contraction resulted in a major basic truth being restored to the church."²⁹

This birthing theory incorporates yet another resurgent theme in Vineyard "theology": the restoration of the five "ministries"of apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists and pastors (Ephesians 4:11). Vineyard teaching claims that these five "ministries" were "lost" prior to the Reformation but, since the Reformation, they are being restored — in reverse order! Accordingly, they say that the Reformation restored the "ministry" of pastor; the Wesleys restored that of evangelist; the charismatic-type renewals restored that of teaching. 30 Blessing adherents believe the current revival (read birth pang) is restoring the "ministry" of prophets/prophecy. That leaves the apostles. Vineyard prophecy maintains that when this ‘ministry’ is restored, "The head will finally be joined to the body. Then we will worship in Spirit and truth."³’

There can be little doubt that such Vineyard teachings are theologically bereft. More to the point, they are also blasphemous to the Roman Catholic ear and a sheer insult to our Faith.

But it’s one thing to hear such nonsense in a non-Catholic setting, and to remind oneself that these poor souls do not have benefit of the Sacraments, the Real Presence, the Teaching Magisterium and Sacred Tradition; nor do they have recourse to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Saints, and the Rosary. But, it’s quite another when this theological hodgepodge is sanctioned and given credence in a Roman Catholic Church with the approvalof Roman Catholic clergy. It’s sacrilege and it’s scandal!

Vineyard theology sanctioned by Roman Catholic clergy: The setting: St. John the Apostle Roman Catholic Church in Ottawa, 9th to 11th February 1995.  By invitation of Father Joe Muldoon (pastor), Marc Dupont, a member of the Toronto Airport Vineyard team, staged a three day Vineyard conference in the church proper.

With the sanction of Roman Catholic clergy — and in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament — Dupont imparted the following Vineyard theological offerings to the multitude that came seeking "signs and wonders."

He said the greatest celebration the universe has ever experienced — the "wedding between the Bride and the Bridegroom" — will probably occur for many in our lifetime. He talked about developing "the prophetic church." He stressed that there is a difference between prophets in the Old Testament and prophets in the New Testament, because in the Old Testament there weren’t that many so they needed to be entirely accurate, but, with the New Testament "we all have the Holy Spirit if we’re born again" and everyone’s a prophet so there’s no need to worry about accuracy, and no need to fear stepping out in faith and prophesying, and while there should be some caution we must remember that God loves "risk-takers" and "as long as our heart’s in the right place we should have freedom to make mistakes."

Dupont actually lead a practice session in prophesying where everyone got a chance to practice prophesying over someone else! And he talked about "dining with God" and Jesus saying "you’re going to have to eat of My Body and drink of My Blood" and then he explained that there are metaphors between people coming into God’s presence and eating, and how the food that nourished and fed Jesus was "prophetic revelation" and "the leading of the Holy Spirit and walking in obedience to what God was saying to do."

He explained that the manifestation of the lion’s roar "is often symbolic of the revelation of the lion of Judah." He talked about the Transfiguration and said that when God spoke what He was basically saying in today’s language was, "Peter, shut up! Peter, I don’t need your religious good works here. Peter, there’s more important things than you trying to make a monument out of this situation. He was saying, Peter, LISTEN to my Son." He told the group that he thinks God is tired of "religiosity." And he told them that if pastors want to reach out to generation X "they can’t continue to have traditional worship."

There was no recognition that the wedding between the Bride and the Bridegroom has already occurred, and that the Bridegroom (Christ) will remain faithful to His Bride (the Church); no inkling that every single Roman Catholic priest seeking "signs and wonders" at the Vineyard daily performs the greatest miracle on earth — at his words, and through his hands, bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ!; no notion that this truly miraculous "power of consecrating, offering, and administering" Christ’s Body and Blood was given by Christ to the apostles and their successors in the priesthood; 32 no acknowledgement of the Real Presence; no inkling that, as the crowd sat wondering if God would "show up," they were already in His presence; no clue that Christ was right there, in the tabernacle,ignored!

No. None of this. Nothing remotely resembling it. Just the familiar ring of Kansas City Prophets, hints of Latter Rain teaching. And constant undermining or denials of the timeless truths of our treasured Faith.

This, dear reader, is Vineyard teaching. This is the alien and heterodox theology which is transmitted to every Roman Catholic who goes in search of the Toronto Blessing’s "signs and wonders." It’s part of the package. It comes with the Blessing.

In conclusion, it is wise and good to recall that the so-called revivals of the past petered out after a few short years. And, for Roman Catholics, it is especially fitting to recall the story of the convulsionaries...

In eighteenth century France, a Roman Catholic group known historically as "the convulsionaries of Saint-Medard" gained renown for their manifestation of great "signs and wonders." The name convulsionaries was chosen basically because those who manifested the phenomena looked like they were having convulsions.

This phenomenon, which manifested for several years (approximately 1731 to 1735) was directly affiliated with the Jansenists, a movement of Roman Catholics who propounded the condemned teachings of Bishop Cornelius Jansen (1585-1638). Despite the fact that the Church had pronounced many of Jansen’s teachings as heretical, Jansenism eventually swept through France.³³

And, in due time, the phenomenon of the convulsionaries swept through the Jansenists.

The convuisionaries are worth a story in and of themselves. For now, it is enough to say that the similarities between some convulsionary and Toronto Blessing phenomena are amazing, and that, like Vineyard teachers, the Jansenists had a great weakness for prophecy and also believed the manifestations were attributable to, "the outpouring of the Spirit prophesied by Joel."

But what was the response of the hierarchy? In his classic study of such phenomenon, Enthusiasm, Msgr. Ronald Knox reports that two condemnations were issued regarding the phenomena: In 1735, thirty Doctors of the Sorbonne repudiated the convulsions altogether as contrary to the majesty of God, the holiness of His worship, the honor of the Church, the purity of morals, and public decency" and, as for the Bishop of Bethlehem, he "gave the devil his full due as author of the manifestations."

1. Guy Chevreau, Catch the Fire, (HarperPerennial [HarperCollins]), 1995, pp.

17,18 2. Dave Roberts, The ‘Toronto’ Blessing, (Kingsway Publications Ltd.,

obtained from Christian Research Institute 6 Christian Research Journal, Fail

1990 7. Bob Hunter, a critique of the Vineyard available from ABBA II Bulletin

ABBA II BE under LAUGH-31.ZIP 9. Christian Research Journal, FaIl 1990 10.

Christian Research Journal, Winter 1994 11. The Association of Vineyard

Churches, Summary Report on the Current Renewal and the Phenomenon

Surrounding It, (on Internet) 12. John Wimber, John Winiber Responds to the

Phenomenon, (Association of Vineyard Churches, available on Internet) 13. Oh

Elizabeth Winslow, Johnahon Edwards: Basic Writings,( The New American

Library, Inc., 1966), p. xvii 14. R.A. Knox, Enthusiasm: A Chapter in the History

of Religion, (University Press, Oxford), 1959) pp. 5 13-548 15. Jack Deere,

Toronto Airport Vineyard, 20 November, 1994, (info Bob Hunter) 16. Chevreau,

p.⁶⁸ 17. Stacy Campbell, Toronto Airport Vineyard, 14 October 1994 (info. Bob

Hunter) 18. Chevreau, p.33 19. Marc Dupont, Prophetic School: Part 3, P~astor’s

Meeting, Toronto Airport Vineyard, 16 November, 1994, (info. Bob Hunter) 20.

Marc Dupont, St. John the Apostle Church, 9-11 February 1995, Tape 2 21.

Chevreau, p. 101 22. Dupont, St. John the Apostle, Tape 2 23. Ibid., Tape 1 24.

Ibid. 25. Ibid., Tape 5 26. Marc Dupont as quoted in Chevreau, p’³⁴ 27. Bill

Jackson, Cessationism, (available on the Internet) 28. Rick Joyner, The Harvest,

(MorningStar Publications, Charlotte, N.C., 1993) p. 42 29. Joyner, p.⁴² 30.

Joyner p. 43- 47 31. Joyner, p. 50 32. The Council of Trent (1543-63), in The

Church Teaches, (TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., Rockford, DL, 1973) p.³²⁹ 33.

A Catholic Dictionary: Second Edition. Revised, Thomas Moore Book Club

Knox. p.3⁸⁷