Fact Checking the Promises of the Encounter God Retreat

Fact Checking the Promises of the Encounter God Retreat

What is the “Encounter God Retreat” (EGR)? Encounter God Retreat is a weekend program that promises to its participants a genuine encounter with God through audio-visual experiences and series of lectures. The Apologetics Index website traced its origin from The G12 Vision, a Pentecostal proselytization and indoctrination strategy developed by Cesar Castellanos and adopted by many churches all around the world. It is akin to the three-day retreat called “Cursillo” by Roman Catholic charismatics which began in Spain and spread around the world in the 1940s.

The following are biblical evaluations of the promises found in the “Encounter God Retreat Manual,”  hence forth called “The Manual” uploaded by Glen R. Bustillos on September 8, 2022, in Scribd.com. It is also made available in Psquare.org. Note that EGR lessons vary from church to church.

All scriptures unless otherwise specified, are quoted from the English Standard Version, ESV (c) 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles.

1. It promises to bring you out of slavery (p.3).  The Manual says, “Like Israel, God’s desire is to bring you out from the land of slavery to the land of freedom and abundance.” However, according to Galatians 5:1, it is not EGR that sets us free but Christ, saying, “For freedom, Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

2. It promises to completely transform your life like the nation of Israel through 3 days of encounter (p.3). The Manual says, “God wants three days appointment with you so He can speak to you and transform you totally,” taking Exodus 5:3 out of context. God is not saying he wanted Christians to spend three days in EGR. The three days in that passage is the time Moses and Aaron said it would take for their journey into the wilderness if Pharaoh would allow them. Anyone familiar with the story of Moses and the Exodus should know that Pharaoh did not let them go in Chapter Five. The Manual is making a false promise based on a passage taken out of context in saying, “This is exactly what the Lord is asking from you today—a three-day Encounter, so God can perform a complete transformation in your lives.”  The Israelites who were liberated by the Lord from slavery in Egypt ten plagues later spent forty years of “encounter with God” in the wilderness eating manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan (Exo. 16:35), but they were not transformed because of their unbelief. Hebrews 3:8-9 even says they hardened their hearts and even put God to the test. And so to prevent it from happening again to Christians, Hebrews 3:13 prescribed daily exhortation (not three days of EGR). A person is not actually transformed by EGR but by renewing one’s mind and not conforming to this world (Romans 12:2).

3. It promises to take away your pain, sadness, and depression (p.4).  The Manual says, “Your encounter with God beginning tonight will dissolve all your pains, sadness, and depression.” This is a dangerous promise. Religious retreat facilitators lack the necessary skills and training to identify and treat depressed individuals. For an overview on depression, read this explanation from a Mayo Clinic expert. Suicidal thoughts and actions are a risk for everyone suffering from severe depression. According to the World Health Organization, 5% of adults suffer from depression globally which necessitates treatment and medication.  If you know anyone who are experiencing any symptoms of depression, encourage him talk to a medical professional. There are also available online depression hotlines.

4. It promises genuine conversion (p.5). The Manual says that at an Encounter, “You will experience genuine conversion.” According to James 5:19-20 any brother who turns away from the truth may be convert by another without the need for EGR. “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” Even so, you cannot guarantee a true conversion in just three days.

5. It promises experiencing the cross (pp. 8-9). With the help of film clips, such as Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, and background music, Session Five claims to help you “experience the cross.” To visualize Jesus’ suffering, participants are even instructed to stand and extend their hands sideways so that nails can pierce their palms. They are advised to gaze into the eyes of “Jesus” (played by Jim Caviezel) as he hangs on the cross to see how full of love they are and how much he loves and longs for them. This is very different from what Romans 5:8 tells us. The Bible states that God already shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us without the need for Jim Caviezel’s amazing performance. Additionally, Matthew 16:24 tells us that if anybody should follow Jesus, they should deny themselves and take up his cross rather than see Mel Gibson’s film to feel bad and have their palms pricked. Following Jesus and denying oneself takes a lifetime, not screen time.

6. It promises Jesus blood will wash you (p.9). After seeing the films, you will be told that Jesus has been waiting for this very time, which will urge you to raise your hand and commit (or recommit) your life to God. Additionally, they will instruct you to feel his blood washing you. In effect, EGR is “bleeding” Caviezel and “crucifying him” every screen time. This runs counter to the assertions made in Romans 6:10 that “the death he died, he died to sin, once for all.” Additionally, 1 Corinthians 6:11 states, “You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God,” placing the atoning sacrifice of Christ in the past tense. However, even though it was already accomplished in the past when Jesus died, anyone today can receive it by faith (Romans 3:25), not by feeling.

7. It wrongly stated that only one drop of blood has the power to cleanse the darkest and most despicable sin that man has ever committed (p. 13).  The Manual says, “Just one drop of Jesus’ blood has the power to cleanse the darkest and most despicable sin that man has ever committed.” If such is the case, Jesus’ death was unnecessary, and the blood shed in Gethsemane was more than enough (Luke 22:24). But this is lousy theology and not scriptural. Death, not a drop of bood is the price of sin (Romans 6:23). The death of Christ is what saves us, not the mere drop of his blood. “He has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death,” according to Colossians 1:22.  The Bible uses “blood” in a figure of speech called “metalepsis” or double metonymies. See E.W. Bullinger,  in Figures of Speech Used in the Bible (1898) explains, “the expression the blood of Christ is the figure Metalepsis; because first the blood is put (by Synecdoche ) for blood-shedding: i.e. , the death of Christ, as distinct from His life; and then His death is put for the perfect satisfaction made by it, for all the merits of the atonement effected by it: i.e. , it means not merely the actual blood corpuscles, neither does it mean His death as an act, but the merits of the atonement effected by it and associated with it.”

To be continued.