The logo above says it all. Whether you are Hindu, Shinto, Buddhist, Taoist, Pagan, Satanist, Wiccan, Muslim, Christian or whatever makes no difference. All roads lead to God (or should that be small “g”). And, according to the Universal Life Church (ULC), sanctioned by the IRS, you are entitled to perform all the rites of legitimate clergy, provided you pay your fee and have your “Credentials of Ministry.” The web site, claiming 20 million ordained ministers, asks only that you “do that which is right” (Didn’t Hitler and Stalin believe they were “right?”) and you’re on your way to marrying and burying. Among the faithful who’ve been ordained are the late Joan Rivers, British business mogul Richard Branson, and Conan O’Brien. Oh, and you have to be at least 13-years-of age. The web site of ULC is sophisticated, expansive, and a huge source of revenue for its custodians. I’ve known about this outfit for years, but only lately has it gussied up its image and gained Internet notoriety.
Here’s where it gets interesting. It was founded by a former Pentecostal preacher (first ordained a Baptist), Kirby James Hensley. He’s dead but his son has carried on the generational curse of heresy and now runs the organization. In keeping with the times, the ULC even has a branch known as The Order of Jedi. Founder Hensley was illiterate and had to hire people to read the Bible. Obviously, they didn’t read it to him well-enough. Their dissertations must have somehow skipped over the words of Jesus in John 14:6: No one comes to the Father except through me.
If the ULC wasn’t active and successful it would be a joke. Instead it’s a perversion of faith only the devil could have dreamed up. Its “doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1) fit well into the eclectic landscape of spirituality in America. That a former Baptist/Pentecostal (Obviously he was a bit confused to start with.) would later deny the faith proves once again that Christians can have demons. Only a mind possessed by evil spirits of delusion could have created such an abominable enterprise of religious mockery.
An encouraging word: JUDGING THOSE IN MINISTRY
1 Timothy 5:24 is an interesting Bible verse: Remember that some men, even pastors, lead sinful lives (TLB). Paul goes on the say that in some cases this can be dealt with and in other instances “only the judgment day will reveal the terrible truth.” Amen to that sad commentary. But in the next verse Paul adds, “good deeds are obvious” (NIV) though sometimes not until “long afterward” (TLB). What can we take away from this? Obviously, there is a proper place for swift and stern church discipline in such matters. But Paul warns us that the good men do isn’t always immediately apparent and the evil may not be fully evident until Judgment Day. The lesson is that we should pray for those in spiritual leadership and encourage them in the Lord. And, apart from local church intervention, in many cases leave the ultimate justice for their bad behavior to God.
Bob Larson has trained healing and deliverance teams all over the world to set the captives free and Do What Jesus Did (Luke 4:18). You can partner with Bob and support this vision to demonstrate God’s power in action by calling 303-980-1511 or clicking here to donate online.
