Here is the second installment of my occassional series on the jargon bantered around by the fundamentalist media, and this one is dripping with the oil of a well lubricated shibboleth that really has a slippery meaning. (Part 1 “Shift in the Heavenlies”, is here).
Anointed Wikipedia’s definition seems useful enough:
To anoint is to grease with perfumed oil, milk, water, melted butter or other substances, a process employed ritually by many religions and races. People and things are anointed to symbolize the introduction of a sacramental or divine influence, a holy emanation, spirit or power. It can also be seen as a spiritual mode of ridding persons and things of dangerous influences and diseases, especially of the demons (Persian drug, Greek κηρες, Armenian dev) which are believed to be or cause those diseases.
In the Bible, people are anointed with oil to mark their elevation to a new, and religiously significant status, e.g., king, or priest. Most famously, Jesus is the “Anointed” (or Christ) of God.
Luke 4:18-19 reads “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”
Many Christian churches anoint its members from time to time. These include the “chrismation” of members just after baptism in the Orthodox church (this means the rite is most often performed on infants). In Orthodoxy and Catholicism, anointing rites are part of healing rituals.
In pentacostalism and some other protestant churches, anointing also refers to the outpouring of divine power or a commission to some individual or organization of the church.
Fair enough, but one wonders if God is pouring out more hydrocarbons than than Saudi Arabia. As in this, from a Florida church:
Pastor Stephen and Yvette have an Apostolic/Evangelical anointing on their lives that has
brought healing, deliverance and salvation to the Body of Christ.It is their desire to continue to bring an anointed word, through the preaching and practical teaching that would Restore, Rebuild and Release God’s presence in your life. (emphasis added)
They are anointed, the “word” is anointed. I wonder if anyone has slipped in anointed puddles in their church. Hey, the “anointing just flows”! All over the place. Here is an example from Singapore:
Hey church, it’s not works. It comes from a natural overflow of knowing God’s goodness and wonders in your life, and God’s anointing just flows in you, through you, of you from the Holy Spirit that is inside you.
It can reach pretty silly proportions, as in this well known video excerpt from a TV show making fun of silly Christian commentators by showing strategically chosen clips. About a quarter of the way through, the most convoluted and stupid exegesis of Hebrew term dabar (word/thing), “the anointing flows…” “Anointing” becomes highly metaphorized, as in this site:
it is our prayer that God will anoint you with fresh oil and His precious Spirit illuminate the Word as you go though this website. May He empower you to effectively communicate to others the vibrant hope that He has given you to persevere the struggles that you have overcome and continue to overcome. it is our prayer that God will anoint you with fresh oil and His precious Spirit illuminate the Word as you go though this website. (emphasis added)
Ah yes, “Fresh Oil” None of that stale crap.
You heard it right if we get angry with people or we get offended with people, or we talk about people we are not led by the spirit. I believe what is missing from our churches is people having fresh oil when they come to the house of God. The Bible says we should be overflowing with the spirit of God. Being filled with the spirit does not mean that your speak a tongue that no one knows, it does not mean you get a second blessing, it does not mean that you now have the gift of healing. The whole reason for having fresh oil is so others trust Christ as Savior. (emphasis added).
If you want some, you can get it here. Yes, the “Saints of Fresh Oil” will sell you consecrated olive oil enfused with various herbs and spices bottled in fancy flacons for diverse scriptual purposes.
Very many charismatic and pentecostal preachers claim to be anointed.
E.g., Rickie G. Rush describes himself as an anointed “man” with an anointed “mission” and minstry”. As an “anointed author”:
God has anointed Pastor Rush with the vision to reach the masses on many levels: in person, by radio, and by television. He has now taken the ministry to yet another media: the printed word. In January, 2005, Pastor Rickie G. Rush published his first book, “May I Have Your Order, Please?” It is a step-by-step guide to getting what you want from GOD. Purchase yours today! “May I Have Your Order, Please?”, not just another book, it’s a Life Manual!
Apparently, every pastor should be anointed. It make sure yours is, Barbara Billett here in Lethbridge offers a prayer to that effect. It is basically a prayer that affirms that one’s pastor (just insert his/her name in the blanks) has all the qualities needed for the job.
I confess that no weapon that is formed against Pastor _____ and his marriage and family shall prosper and that every tongue that rises up against them in judgment shall be shown to be in the wrong. Thank you Lord for contending with that which contends against Pastor _____ and his family. When the enemy comes one way, he has to flee seven ways from Pastor _____ and his family, in Jesus’ name.
Ah yes, tell God that your pastor is beyond criticism! Pastors are anointed, they cannot be challenged by man or demon. Fittingly, the prayer does not include a hope that God would punish those pastors who abuse their position!
I found this interesting blog post by an ex-Pentecostal (and that is what the whole blog is about) turned Lutheran who seems rather bitter about his previous denominational choice. He, too, comments on the social control that is implicit in the notion of ‘anointing’.
Triggers of Alternate Personalities (Anointing) –(scroll down to the second post)
Let us illustrate how someone can be speaking normally and rationally to a Pentecostal, and then suddenly, the personality changes and they are in Robot Mode, spouting off strange sayings and making strange gestures that will sometimes frighten us or anger us. Imagine that you are talking about food and recipes to a loved one. You can be having fun talking about making coffee, tea, or your favorite dish. Then suddenly, you might slip and say that fine wine can go with the cheese or the chicken. If they are tee totaling Oneness Pentecostals, they might pause for a second. Their faces will change and their demeanor will change, and they might launch into an attack about alcohol opening your body up to demonic attack. They usually will begin ranting about their doctrines against alcohol. You have inadvertently TRIGGERED them from their Authentic Self into their Robot Self. You cannot reason with the Robot Self. Try to bring them off of this altered state by silence or changing the subject.
Sometimes Pentecostals will think of the Robot Mode as the “anointing” coming upon them where the “spirit of God” takes control and they preach to you about wickedness. Remember that this is not God’s anointing; this is a programmed response to religious conditioning.
Anointing is richly meaningful ritual in many Christian churches. In many Protestant churches it is a significant theological concept. In some, however, throwing the word around becomes a shibboleth, a term used to signify belonging. Control of its use is not egalitarian, however. There is a hierarchy involved, and for those with the power, the term is used as little more than a ploy for maintaining status and power. They use the concept to induce an emotional response, a heightened spirituality, and then claim a special status for particular church leaders whose own “anointing” seems to be ever replenished and of a higher order than the masses. The ones who control how and of whom the term “anointed” is used are beyond criticism.
Martin Luther once argued that the Roman Church strayed from the truth in establishing two classes of Christian: the regular believer, and the clergy who were of a special status who were necessary for the Church’s sacraments and hence indispensable for the working of Christian salvation. Luther severely criticized this and the status and power that went with it. While Protestants do not have the hierarchy of the Roman church, some denominations have their own special class of Christian who claim a special ‘anointing’, making them untouchable. They control the “fresh oil” poured on their flock. Martin Luther just might be rolling over in his grave.
Al Derry comes from the Dream Centre in Medicine Hat, Alberta and brings with him great enthusiasm for the things of God. His prophetic giftings will inspire you as he speaks words of knowledge into people’s lives. [Medicine Hat is about an hour and a half drive's away from Lethbridge]
