The Pro-Family Industrial Complex

By Brannon S. Howse

Pro-family activism has become its own “industrial complex” and I believe it is now one of the biggest threats to the true Church in regard to building credibility for Satan’s number one tool for deception: false teachers. In Religious Trojan Horse, I document many spiritual enterprises that have been promoted and hosted by pro-family groups as they raise the flag above the cross and partner with false teachers to promote the doctrine of demons. Yet when these groups have been directly warned—whether by me or others—their responses reveal little concern for truth. Some of these so-called evangelical, pro-family leaders are among the most theologically and biblically illiterate people with whom I have ever interacted. As a result, many of them strain at gnats while swallowing camels. They rail against socialism while promoting social justice or social justice proponents, even though social justice is simply socialism wrapped in Christian terminology.

    Their choice of battles to fight reveals a great deal about what they truly value. For instance, I find it revealing how many pro-family leaders: 

Rail against moral relativism while they are driven by pragmatism. 

Decry homosexual marriage while in their own second marriages. 

Bemoan government waste while they have wasted millions of dollars on unbiblical moralizing. 

Are consumed by the dysfunction of government but not the apostasy of evangelicalism. 

Obsess over the worldliness of the world but not the worldliness of evangelicalism. 

Are concerned by paganism in the educational system but not the paganism within evangelicalism or their own organizations. 

Worry about national security but show little concern with eternal security. 

Rail against those who they demonstrate hostility toward cultural Christianity by not saying “Merry Christmas” while being hostile to biblical Christianity by attacking Christians who teach what the Bible says about external, social transformation through man-centered efforts versus internal, individual transformation through Gospel-centered preaching.

Talk as if they are bigoted toward Bible teachers who expose the fallacy of their methodologies yet are offended by the bigotry of the world against Christians. 

Expose radical environmentalists in government, education, and science but ignore the radical environmental agenda promoted by most church denominations which many of their donors support.

Deride feminism in the culture but not the feminism within evangelicalism. 

Are troubled by the transgender agenda by which men are transformed into women and women into men yet say nothing about unbiblical theology that has transformed men into feminine pansies and women into masculine leaders.

Rarely miss the opportunity to talk about homosexuals and pedophilia but remain quiet about so-called evangelicals and pedophilia. 

Take offense at perceived attacks on Christianity in secular programming while they produce religious programming and spiritual events with false teachers who undermine the Gospel. 

One example in particular reveals the validity of my concern about some pro-family groups and their hypocritical and contradictory moral outrage. On June 8, 2015, the American Family Association issued a press release telling its concerns about FOX Network plans to air a television show about Satan retiring in Los Angeles, where he operates a night club. The AFA called for the cancellation of the program. In the press release, the AFA President Tim Wildmon says:

[quote] Simply put, it is wrong to mock people of faith by depicting a likable character that is the very face of evil. It’s clear bigotry, and shows that make light of deeply held religious and biblical views are intolerant toward people of faith. We urge FOX to cancel plans to air this damaging program. And if plans for the show proceed, AFA and our powerful One Million Moms division will contact advertisers who plan to finance this program, letting them know that faithful Americans will not allow their beliefs to be trampled and insulted in the name of so-called entertainment. [end quote]

I dare say, his threat does not worry FOX very much. Wildmon should do some introspection about his own practices, and to him I would say: 

Simply put, I believe, based on the study of God’s Word, that it is wrong to depict the many false teachers your radio network has interviewed as being biblical when they are really the face or promoters of doctrines of demons. It is clear foolishness, and broadcasters that interview such false teachers are not taking seriously just how intolerant God is toward people of such a false faith. I urge you to stop the damage you are doing by interviewing false teachers and promoting their books, organizations, and events. If you proceed in such spiritual enterprises and interviews, know this: we will not contact any underwriters that reportedly finance your programming, but faithful Bereans will leave it to God to deal with your network’s promotion of false teachers who trample the Gospel underfoot through so-called Christian broadcasting. 

Regarding the FOX program, AFA’s Ed Vitagliano also told Newsmax TV’s host Ed Berliner:

[quote] It is being portrayed as a fantasy, but we believe that Satan is real, and in a culture that increasingly is having a hard time distinguishing between good and evil, this is a program we think…glorifies evil, and at the very least shows the power of evil as something to take lightly. [end quote] 

To Mr. Vitagliano, I would suggest the following:

American Family Radio Network has interviewed false teachers such as Rick Joyner, Heidi Baker, Steve Hill, and others, but we believe Satan is real, and his number one strategy for deceiving people is to make it hard for them to distinguish between truth and error. Programming that features false teachers masquerades evil as good. At the very least, it shows that mixing truth and error is something to take lightly. 

AFA is straining at a television program while swallowing false teachers! For example, the American Family Association and its American Family Radio Network at the time of this writing carry David Barton’s daily radio program. Barton has appeared on the television program of Word of Faith false teacher Kenneth Copeland more times than I can count. He also works closely with Glenn Beck and has declared him saved.  On the TV program Life Today, David Barton, speaking of Glenn Beck declared: 

"Here is a guy that was raised as a Catholic. He found Jesus in Alcoholics Anonymous when he really screwed up his life, and he’s now going to a Mormon church, but that doesn’t say anything about his personal relationship with Jesus, and that’s what people need to look at."

The interviewer asked Barton, “So you believe that he is a Christian in every sense of the word?” To which Barton replied, “I do.” Why does AFA not have an issue with this?

Some pro-family or evangelical leaders these days almost seem like the caricatures of themselves portrayed on late-night comedy television. Even if the moralizing minority could implement every law it wants and turn America into one great big town of Mayberry, the result would simply be a more comfortable and moral America from which millions of people could enter hell. Type-casting at the most skilled Hollywood agency could not do a better job of making a mockery of biblical truth. And yet, they seem to think they are making so much difference that if their organizations were not on the front line, all America and evangelicalism would be lost. I think their real concern is that if their organizations did not exist, they would not be able find another job that pays as well, with what appears to be little discernment, knowledge, or marketable skills. 

So many of these pro-family folks seem to think that what they are doing is biblical, but they are the ones Jesus was talking about in Matthew 5 in the Sermon on the Mount. They believe they are being salt and light, but they seem to be doing anything but preaching, teaching, and promoting a consistent, biblical Gospel. And the only salt they seem to grasp is in the salt shaker at the dinner table. 

Can you see the Apostle Paul putting out a press release and informing Rome that unless they cease and desist in their entertainment of killing Christians he would summon a million moms and call down their collective outrage? I think pro-family boycotters look really silly, shallow, and clueless as to the problem or the solution. I agree with Ray Comfort when he said in a July 2015 interview:

[quote] The Gospel transforms the human heart. We’re past the “sign-the-petition” stage. When you look at all the big companies such as Nike and Microsoft and Apple and Target—all these companies that are supporting homosexuality, I believe we’re even past the boycotting stage. What are we going to boycott next—oxygen? We’ve got to go back and say, “What did the church do in the book of Acts?” They didn’t have their hope in politics, in signing petitions, in boycotting. Their hope was in the Gospel, because if you want a nation to be righteous, you don’t do it political—even though it’s great that we vote and we elect godly leaders—but our hope is to transform the human heart. And that’s what we want to see: people saved from God’s wrath on Judgment Day. We’re not really out as Christians to clean up America and get it back the way it was in the early 1950s. [end quote] 

Are today’s evangelical leaders really committed to a biblical worldview and the defense, protection, and proclamation of a biblical Gospel, or are they more interested in power, political access, and a big ecumenical tent of more donors? At the end of the day, does it come back to the worship of God or worship of money? Are religion and pro-family causes being used for big business? Are our human actions wrapped in a biblical cause for God, or is God wrapped in a human cause for financial benefit? 

I recognize that I am not immune to criticism for my past participation in moralizing. I had to repent for being guilty of Americanism, for having a greater commitment to liberty and freedom than I did to proclaiming the Gospel and making disciples of Jesus Christ, and I pray this book causes you to repent of the same sin, if necessary. Let’s labor in keeping ourselves and our local New Testament church on track in its primary mission, lest we be caught up in ecumenical spiritual enterprises for the sake of national preservation. If we are involved in such activities, then we are directly assisting in laying the foundation upon which the coming religious Reich will be built. 

Copyright 2015 ©Brannon Howse. This content is for Situation Room members and is not to be duplicated in any form or uploaded to other websites without the express written permission of Brannon Howse or his legally authorized representative.