President for Fire Grade Apologetics, Pastor Eric Kallai has carved a response to Dr. Abel Damina interview on Metro TV.
He writes:
After Dr. Damina’s interview on Metro TV, charley, there was trouble for me on a particular WhatsApp platform so I took my time to carve a response…you may leave a feedback
Pulpit Policing ?
A few days ago, after Dr. Abel Damina’s interview with Paul Adom Okyere, a Ghanaian journalist, started circulating, a number of friends tagged me with the video, as usual, but this time it was different. I have warned people several times to avoid the teachings of Pastor Damina because many things he says in his messages are inconsistent with the authority of scripture, and some of his theological stances are unorthodox. The Pastor holds a theology that angels are limited in knowledge and they do not know about Christ. He assumes that they lied about Christ’s ascension, and in the recent video, he emphasized this position by saying angels have limited knowledge about Christ, which is why they revealed to John in metaphors. A look at the first chapter of the Apocalypse verse 1 disproves that. The revelation was given by God and not angels. Additionally, there is nowhere in scripture that suggests angels do not know. God sent angels and they gave detailed messages about the Lord’s birth with precision. How can you say they have limited knowledge and they lie? This is the least of what Dr. Damina says, and he is not someone we can recommend from our pulpits.
So, it was just obvious that our brothers would call me out to respond to Dr. Damina, saying, ‘Come and debunk this one too.’ Here is the problem: we are not parading ourselves as super instructors chasing after people and finding faults; far from that. In 1 & 2 Timothy, Paul calls out Alexander, Hymenaeus, and Philetus. He mentions that these guys must be avoided because they taught wrongly. At this point, did Paul not know about ‘let them grow’?
The Apostles have warned in scripture about false teachers and prophets. Paul even anathematizes anyone who teaches a wrong gospel.
In 2010, I met a leader of the Brotherhood of the Moon and Star (Olumba). I was reserved, but for the occasion, we had to interact. Even though I was a pastor of a charismatic church, I wasn’t rooted in sound doctrine like it is today. He shared with me on God, the Holy Spirit, and eternal judgment. I left thinking, ‘Are these not the same things we have been teaching? Why do we tag Olumba as a cult?’ It was later that I further read about them and saw their core beliefs and grounds of faith. Then in 2012, I met a business man who doubled as a minister. He was from the ‘Unification Church’ founded by Rev Sun Myung Moon. He shared a lot of ‘mysteries’ with me that I got interested. He was also happy with the knowledge I displayed, we spent a night and a day together as we prepared for a TV program he proposed. Though some of the things he was teaching was strange, I was getting along but my spirit wasn’t at ease. Little did I know that I was going to be initiated that day, the details of my conversation with him will be for another time. My deliverance was a vision that came to me a night before they could have executed whatever they wanted to do. After the vision I went to google and it was confirmed, I had to run from this cult. What lessons can be drawn here? The fact that someone says something that aligns well with orthodoxy is not enough; delve into their basis of theology.
After watching Abel Damina’s interview, I saw no point in them calling me out. The Pastor said a lot that I agree with, and I have said the same things on this noble platform. Some of the things I have said are about serving God based on a transactionary relationship. I have always said that in the New Testament, tithing is a faith work. If someone doesn’t believe, don’t argue with them; after all, not paying tithes wouldn’t take you to heaven, but it becomes a responsibility as a member to seek the well-being of the church. We know God’s character of rewarding people’s faith; don’t stop tithing.
I want to be emphatically clear that brothers and sisters here should not see some of us who uphold the truth of the gospel as fault-finders; we only seek doctrinal correctness. The reason I mention that this man should be avoided is that if he is endorsed, tomorrow he says ‘Jesus was not born by Mary,’ etc., and unnecessary wordplay brings people into confusion. He questions the character of God in the Old Testament, and like I said, the things he mentioned are not new heresies; they are as old as 2000 years. That is why I asked about *Marcionism*. The only answer I got from my brother Charles is a funny response 🤣. We tell the theologians, ‘Away with the jargons’… okay. We recently saw a little boy on TV who has been well-schooled in new age spirituality. At age 10, he knows about the ‘5 Dimensions of Consciousness.’ Funny, huh? But I want to talk about *Kenosis*; we want to say that it’s too hard for us, meanwhile, we have learned many technical terms in school and have no problem with them.
A few things to touch on in the video:
The Pastor says the book of Acts is a journalistic account, and we can’t build a doctrine out of it. Well, I don’t know why he says this, and I wish he was questioned more on this. The Gospels and other writings are also based on eyewitness accounts. Does it mean we can’t build doctrines out of them? You see the implications of just one statement you may think is harmless. Just these words go on to emphasize his position that ‘the Bible is not the word of God.’ To say that the Bible is not the word of God means there is a lack of understanding of the doctrine of inspiration. Per his analysis, does it mean Luke is not inspired??? Agreed that the antichrist is a Spirit and a system because that is what the Bible teaches, but it is also a person. Unless he has a different definition of the ‘man of sin’ in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10 and the Beast in Revelations 13. Moreover, Dr. Damina makes a great deal out of the rapture doctrine. We agree that there is no word like that in the Bible, just like trinity, incarnation, and kenosis. They are all terms used to explain concepts or particular teachings in the Bible. He replaces resurrection with rapture. How does he explain the experience of those who will be alive and be caught up according to 1 Corinthians 15:51-53? Those who are alive are not dead to be resurrected. Theologians employ the term rapture to explain this event, and it is not unbiblical. Apart from a few red flags in the video, anyone with the knowledge of scripture will attest to the fact that it was a wonderful convo, but still, the man is not recommendable.
My name is Eric Kallai
Source: ghministers.net