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Religion in Korea: Heaven is so Real and the dangers of Choo Thomas16th September 2007 Preface
, then more power to ya. I suggest you unplug your brain and send all your money to Benny Hinn. Who is Choo Thomas?
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| In the next pit was a woman on her knees,
as if looking for something. Her skeletal form also was full
of holes. Her bones were showing through, and her torn dress
was on fire. Her head was bald, and there were only holes
where her eyes and nose were supposed to be. A small fire
was burning around her feet where she was kneeling, and she
clawed the sides of the brimstone pit. The fire clung to her
hands, and dead flesh kept falling off as she dug. Taken from Mary K. Baxter's website. |
Choo Thomas, Evangelism and Children
My first reaction to this approach to evangelism is: Stay the hell away from the children lady!
Just imagine it. Choo Thomas walks up to your child, hands them a salvation package that includes a vile tape about Hell, and then she proceeds to jump up and down as she casts demons out of them.
I do encourage you to listen to at least some of Mary K. Baxter's tape about Hell (see here). Only "some of" because it is foul. I have a pretty strong stomach and I couldn't listen to the whole thing. It made me feel ill.
The Jesuits have a saying that goes something like: "Give me a child for his first seven years, and I'll give you the man for life." I think the Jesuits are quite right. From Thomas' point of view, it is vital that you preach to the children. Convert them while they are young - scare them if you have to - and you'll have a convert for life. Christians may disagree with the methods used, but surely not the end result.
Aside: If you're interested in seeing how children are being indoctrinated by the religious right in America, then I suggest you watch the excellent documentary called Jesus Camp.
The idea of Satan and Hell has got to be one of the vilest of all of Christianities doctrines, but also the most effective.
Hell offers great incentive to believe: "If you don't believe this, then you're off to Hell". This idea was good enough to scare Choo Thomas' nephew into believing.
Satan is the perfect (almost!) foil to logic and free thought. If someone raises awkward questions, then it is Satan talking. Dan Dennett - the great American philosopher - would include the following if he were to design a religion:
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If anybody raises any questions or objections about our religion that you cannot answer, that person is almost certainly Satan. In fact, the more reasonable the person is, the more eager to engage you in open-minded and congenial discussion, the more sure you can be that you're talking to Satan in disguise! Turn away! Do not listen! It's a trap! Daniel Dennett. Breaking the Spell. Page 207. |
That looks almost comical (as Dennett intended) but it is right there at the heart of a lot of Christian theology. Check out what Rick Warren - Christian "moderate", head pastor of Saddleback church and author of the mega-selling Purpose Driven Life - has to say:
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Surrendered people obey God's word; even when it doesn't make sense. Rick Warren. The Purpose Drive Life. Page 60. |
Choo Thomas: Engage your brain, open your mind, embrace free thought and stop preaching such vile filth to children.
Healthcare: A How to Guide by Choo Thomas
Taken from Heaven is So Real, page 207
How to be well:
Cast out the Devil.
Pray to the Father in the name of Jesus.
Search your heart for sin and repent as necessary
If God directs you then, and only then, see a doctor.
Here is an example from Choo's own book:
| The first thing many Christians do when
they are sick is to go to the doctor, instead of casting the
devil out, praying to the Father in the name of Jesus,
searching their hearts to see if they have sin within them.
... one of my wisdom teeth was bothering me for a while. The Lord didn't heal this condition for a long time, so I asked Him why. He simply directed me to have it pulled. Page 207 (Heaven is so Real) |
Choo's Message about Healthcare is Dangerous and
Irresponsible
Life expectancy before the advent of modern health practices
varied between twenty and thirty-five. The worldwide average is
now sixty-seven3.
Why? Nutrition. Public health. Medicine. Reduced infant mortality.
How did we learn these good tricks? Dedicated and hard working scientist. All too often without credit or personal gain.
How much has religion added to life expectancy? Nothing. Nada. Zip.
If anything, it has decreased life expectancy. Martyrs, suicide bombers (including the victims), 9/11, the Crusades...
If you are sick, go to the doctor. Listening to Thomas' advice will reduce your life expectancy.
What happens to aborted babies: The Inside Scoop by Choo Thomas
Taken from Heaven is So Real, 38-39
All aborted babies end up in a giant warehouse in heaven where they are naked and sleep quite close together. According to Choo, 25% of all babies are aborted in the U.S.
A full repentant Christian lady can reclaim her baby in heaven.
Any babies of unrepentant ladies will be given new mothers.
Oh, and as an added bonus, any child that dies before their seventh birthday automatically gets sent to heaven.
Choo Thomas and Abortion: Outright Deception or Ignorance?
Firstly, an aborted baby room is just outright bizarre.
Secondly, Choo should get her facts right.
In 1996 - which is about when her book was written - the abortion rate in the U.S. was about 2.1%4, well shy of the one in four pregnancies she reports on page 39.
It is interesting to note that indeed 25% of all pregnancies are naturally aborted within the first six weeks of pregnancy5, usually before the mother even knows it. Sam Harris, makes an interesting point in his book Letter to a Christian Nation:
| There is an obvious truth here that cries out
for acknowledgement: If God exists, He is the most prolific
abortionists of all. Sam Harris. Letter to a Christian Nations - Page 38 |
I wonder if Paul Hill is discussing this with God in heaven?
Choo Thomas' exact quote is:
| Nearly 1 in every 4
pregnancies in the United States today ends in abortion.
How this grieves the Lord. Page 39 |
One assumes that the Lord is not grieving for the abortions that He himself caused, so Choo Thomas can only be referring to the abortions that mothers decide to have. In which case, 25% is downright wrong.
Is she being deceptive? Or just ignorant? I don't know. At the very least this casts a long shadow over this book as the literal word of God.
Strange things in Choo's Book
Then are many more strange things in Thomas' book. Here
are some samples:
| So many people wonder if their pets will be in heaven, and I am happy
to let them know that heaven is a place of beautiful flowers, peaceful
animals and glorious radiance where people and animals alike will never
experience pain, hardship, death or suffering ever again. Page 55 |
| ... then
He escorted me to heaven. We walked through the pearly
gates... Page 95 |
| He [Jesus] then assumed the role of a
cook, right in front of me. He grilled the fish until both sides were brown. ...
It was delicious. Truly, I had never tasted such
tender luscious fish before. Page 97-8 |
| He said [Jesus]: "Do not cry my
daughter. I want you to be happy!".
Page 102 |
| "These are beach houses for My
children," the Lord explained. It was amazing!
We'll have vacation homes in heaven. Page 102 |
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[Jesus said] "Any Christian who doesn't tithe will not be blessed because they love money more than My Word. Those who love money more than My Word will never see My Kingdom." (Page 127) The Lord is very unhappy with those who are not tithing. (See Malachi 3:8-10). The Lord showed me and told me clearly that whoever doesn't tithe will not see His face because they love money more than Him. Page 213 |
| Just then the Lord touched my eyes, and from that moment on I could
not recall my mother's face. Even as I write these words, I cannot
see her face. All I remember is that I once saw her face in the
pit, and it was a terrifying experience. Page 59 Though it was a very painful memory for me to see my mother and others in the pit, I had to realize that nothing can bring them out of there, so I accept the fact that they will be there for all eternity simply because they did not know the Lord Jesus. Page 152 |
| He (Jesus) poured a total of eighty-five
bottles of anointing oil upon me. Page 160 He would shoot flames from His eyes into my eyes. Page 161 He "unlocked" the various parts of my body that needed His work of preparation. Page 165 As a result of all this, however, I have experienced truly supernatural human strength. ... When I am anointed, no one can hold my hands because of their fast movements under the power of the Holy Spirit Page 160 |
And there is, of course, an abundance of references to End Times and how it is "just around the corner". Far too many to list here.
What to do with Choo Thomas?
How are we supposed to take Choo Thomas and her book?
One approach might be to write it off as mindless drivel. I mean, come on! Pets in heaven? Flame-shooting Jesus eyes? Holiday home in heaven? (A holiday from what?) Literal Pearly Gates? Jesus grilling you a fish? And an aborted baby room?
I'm sure most people would cringe at that list, Christians included. But is it any more bizarre than the Bible itself? Take the book of Genesis for example, where a magic snake tempts naked humans to partake in forbidden fruit that imparts the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:15)
Or how about the story of Lot? Lot, who was the only righteous man in Sodom who handed over his virgin daughters for gang rape. Lot, whose wife was turned into a pillar of salt. And Lot, whose said virginal daughters had drunken sex with him. Lot, whose resulting grandchildren (children?) became the founding fathers of the Moabite and Ammonite tribes. Don't believe me? Check out Genesis 19. It is all there.
The fact is that people do take Choo Thomas seriously, just as they take the rather strange stories in the Bible seriously. Take Louise From Western Australia for example:
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Dear Choo Found here on Choo Thomas' website. |
And, as I mentioned before, it the full endorsement of Dr. David Yonggi Cho and the Yoido Full Gospel Church. At a service I saw a Yoido usher eagerly showing a young teenage girl passages from Heaven is so Real that prove George W. Bush is God's chosen lead for the end times. This is the passage he was showing her:
| The Lord told me during the preceding national election
year in the United States that George Bush was His chosen man for the
last days president. I knew why it was so difficult to complete
the election process with so many disputed votes and other problems.
They were because Satan knew that George Bush would make a difference to
the Christians of this world, and the enemy was so against him. Page 233 |
C.S. Lewis posed the famous Lord, Liar or Lunatic6 trilemma in his book Mere Christianity. Who was Christ? Was he everything he said he claimed to be, and therefore Lord? Or was he just an evil so-and-so who was leading us all astray, and therefore a Liar? Or was he just some sort of nut who believed what he said, and therefore a Lunatic? I'm going to apply a similar idea to Choo Thomas. Was she inspired by the Lord? Support in mainstream Christianity seems to be split. This guy is all for Choo Thomas, as are her devotees in this forum. And let's not forget Dr. David Yonggi Cho and his 800,000 strong congregation. There are also many doubting Thomases (as it were) to Thomas' message. Pastor Keith Gibson comes down strongly on her, as do the people in this forum. And that crazy atheist crowd is especially hard on her. A lot of her teaching is downright unbiblical as well. A holding place for disobedient and sinful Christians? Jesus blood being the scarlet thread the weaves the Bible together? Perhaps she's read a different Bible to me, but I can't remember Jesus getting much of a mention in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). I think we can safely say she was not inspired by the Lord. |
Is she a Liar?
One day, Choo Thomas asked her pastor if she could perform her
special dance ministry in front of the church. He said no, to
which she replied: "Pastor, you are putting people before God's Word.
The Lord has asked me to dance on the platform for the church's
blessing".
This type of story is repeated several times in her book. Someone questions her, and she responds with something like: "Why are you questioning the work of the Holy Spirit?"
I dunno about you, but this smacks of someone who really believes what she says.
This leaves us with but one option...
What about a Lunatic? Does she really believe what she
says?
She says on her website
that "Christians should never judge other Christian's work of God."
She also claims that "Every word in this book is true. The words of Jesus have been transcribed exactly as He said them to me." on page 153 of book.
I think Cho Thomas really does believe every word she says. The above two examples are indicative of someone who knows their write and no amount of criticism or logic is going to sway her. She will always have the snappy reply, "Well have you been to heaven? Huh? Have you? Punk?".
Conclusion
But, of course, this is all just speculation. I don't
really know that Choo Thomas believes everything she says, but that is
how she comes across to me.
I do know that Choo Thomas is preaching a very dangerous message. The world would have been a better place if her book had not been published.
Let's leave the last words to Choo though. Watch her on this video, or listen to her truly spirit song here.
| 1 | As seen on a t-shirt |
| 2 | Nods towards Sherri Shephard and her somewhat misguided flat earth analysis. |
| 3 | See here for more on life expectancy. |
| 4 | This is according to the highly respected CDC site. See here for more. |
| 5 | See here on Wikipedia for more. |
| 6 | Richard Dawkins' points out in his book The God Delusion, that C.S. Lewis perhaps missed a fourth option: Honestly mistaken. "Gee guys. Sorry. I thought I was the Messiah. All the evidence seemed to suggest it. But It turns out that I'm not. Sorry 'bout that. |
