Superstitious Shock Jock Sensationalism and the Absence of the Holy Spirit
Written on April 1, 2025
Superstitious Shock Jock Sensationalism and the Absence of the Holy Spirit
In a sermon titled Superstitious Shockjock Sensationalism!!!, the speaker critiques a wide range of modern Christian claims and experiences, particularly those involving dreams, visions, personal revelations, and demonic attributions. His core argument is that all such phenomena are suspect unless they can be directly verified by Scripture, and he firmly asserts that the Bible alone is sufficient for all Christian truth. However, this extreme position may reveal more about the spiritual condition of the speaker than about the topics he criticizes.
The speaker categorizes seven types of what he calls "shock jockery," which include:
- Claims that "God told me..." something directly, outside the written Word.
- Labelling others as witches, warlocks, or agents of secret societies without evidence.
- Repeated rapture dream predictions.
- Accusations of throwing occult hand signs.
- Attributing every life difficulty to demonic attack.
- Sensational experiences attributed to the Holy Spirit (like laughing, rolling on the floor, or speaking in tongues).
- Testimonies of visiting heaven or hell via dreams or near-death experiences.
While it is important to test all spiritual experiences against the Word of God (1 John 4:1), the complete rejection of the idea that God still communicates personally with His people suggests something deeper: the absence of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost.
The Bible affirms that born-again believers are led by the Spirit of God:
> "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." – Romans 8:14 (KJV)
> "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." – Romans 8:16 (KJV)
The sermon, while appearing to defend sound doctrine, may in fact reflect a form of lifeless religiosity. The speaker's refusal to acknowledge any present-day personal communication from God—even in the form of quiet leading or conviction—runs contrary to the experience of countless born-again believers throughout history.
Jesus Himself said:
> "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." – John 10:27 (KJV)
This clearly indicates that the relationship between Christ and His sheep involves living communication. Rejecting all spiritual impressions, leadings, or internal confirmations from the Holy Spirit effectively reduces Christianity to mere information management—an intellectual system divorced from divine life.
Of course, there is much abuse of spiritual language in modern Christianity, especially on social media and YouTube. False claims of dreams, signs, and extra-biblical authority do abound. But throwing out all forms of personal experience with God because some are fake is like denying all weather because some reports are false.
The sermon also ridicules the idea that spiritual warfare can affect physical life—yet Scripture says:
> "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers..." – Ephesians 6:12 (KJV)
The speaker’s message may stem more from fear of deception—or from lack of spiritual experience—than from biblical balance. What is needed is not a blanket denial of all personal or supernatural experience, but a proper testing of spirits and alignment with Scripture.
If one never hears from God, never feels correction, never senses His presence, never receives assurance of salvation—what kind of Christianity is that?
It may be, as was rightly noted in response to the sermon, that this is a man who doesn’t have the indwelling of the Holy Ghost.