Eugene Maurice Orowitz (screen name Michael Landon) was a Hollywood writer, director, producer, and actor that is best known for his roles as "Little Joe" in Bonanza, "Charles Ingalls" in Little House on the Prairie, and "Jonathan Smith" in Highway to Heaven. His TV productions have been applauded for decades by willingly ignorant and foolish churchgoers who have no understanding of the truth, and I confess I was once in that same foolish category, since I grew up watching Little House on the Prairie and used to really liked the show. |
The title "Wolves in Costume" is a series of teachings we have on our website in which I expose famous people who are claimed by popular media to be "Christians," but they are not. Michael Landon starred in the movie I Was a Teenage Werewolf, in which he literally dressed up in a wolf costume, so I don't want readers to think this is some biography on his role in that movie; this is an expose to reveal the truth of his anti-Christian beliefs and anti-Biblical lifestyle.
(See "Wolves in Costume" here at creationliberty.com for more details on other wolves, such as Amy Grant, Billy Graham, Rick Warren, Michael W. Smith, and much more.)
The evidence of a Christian should be seen in their words and actions, and in this teaching, I will prove that the words and actions of Michael Landon were far from Christ.
But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
-Matthew 12:36-37
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
-James 2:18-20
He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.
-Proverbs 18:13
(Read "Is Repentance Part of Salvation?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
-2 Timothy 2:24-26
Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?
-Galatians 4:16
Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.
-1 Corinthians 14:20
"I most deeply believe in God, I believe in family, I believe in truth between people, I believe in the power of love. I believe that we really are created in God's image,"
-Michael Landon, quoted by Cheryl Landon, Michael Landon's Legacy: 7 Keys to Supercharging Your Life, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, 2001, p. 171, ISBN: 9781571742858
"I felt my father's presence with me, enlightening my memories, helping me to commit to paper the feelings I had. |
Pleaes don't misunderstand when Landon said the word "father" in that quote; he's not referring to the Christian God of the Bible. He's referring to his earthly father who he believed was visiting him from another dimension to give him the words for the scripts of his show; otherwise known as "demonic channeling." (i.e. The ghosts of dead people are not floating around the world; these are devils in diguise.) Just like Stephenie Meyer and her Twilight vampire novels, and just like Led Zeppelin and their Stairway to Heaven song, Landon used demonic channeling to have the devil's minions write some of the scripts for the shows he produced; this quote in particular is referring to Sam's Son, a movie Landon produced. (We will cover more on that later.)
(Read "Fantasy Novels: Invitations to Hell" here at creationliberty.com for more details on Stephenie Meyer and Twilight; Read "What's Wrong With Christian Rock?" here at creationliberty.com for more details on Led Zeppelin and Stairway to Heaven.)
Before we continue, it should be obvious to anyone born again in Christ, among those who study the Word of God, that Landon could not have believed in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. If Landon believed in Christ and His doctrine, then he would not believe that the spirits of dead men communicated with him.
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
-Hebrews 9:27
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
-1 Timothy 4:1
But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.
-1 Corinthians 10:20-21
PRESENTER: "Mark Landon, the son Michael adopted when he was 12-years-old." MARK LANDON: "Life is about how you handle what's thrown at you, and what he wanted everybody to do is to learn to handle what comes your way. He sees life; you take it on. You approach it and make the best of every situation you can." PRESENTER: "Mark Landon recalls the father who took him in with the love and fondness of a young boy describing his hero." MARK LANDON: "Dad always had a wild, wacky sense of humor. When I was a kid and I first met him, we were like two cartoon characters. We both laughed a lot; a lot of that laughter." PRESENTER: "In some ways, MARK LANDON: "We used to play this game, like on his birthday and at Christmas time, and it's like he'd put his hand over the presents that were wrapped... he would get like nine, ten, eleven, twelve; perfect, he would guess what the presents were. I said, PRESENTER: "Wherever Michael is today, Mark believes he is exploring." MARK LANDON: " PRESENTER: "And Mark is not certain, but he believes he may have had a visit from Michael since the star's death." MARK LANDON: "I was in my bedroom, and my window was open, and I sort of had this vision with my eyes closed of him flying up my window with like three or four kids. And I said, 'Dad! Dad! How you doing?' He wouldn't, 'Not now, I've got work to do,' like he was holding orphans, and then he just flew away. I sort of opened my eyes and went, 'Nah.' But how can I be sure I'm really seeing something like that; it's just a vision based on his personality and the way he was." PRESENTER: "He'll never know if Michael did come back to visit, but Mark does know that Michael believed his own father had reached him from the afterlife." MARK LANDON: "He was talking about, like at the funeral, it's like he felt a presence, but he couldn't really be sure. But yeah, |
Landon's "gift-guessing abililty" is not something Mark just made up in his head. Cheryl Landon, Michael's eldest daughter, talked about it as well:
"He'd rarely open a present right away but preferred to guess at the contents. Depending on its size, he'd hold the package in front of him and turn it over and over in his hands. Then he'd put it up to his ear and shake it a little. He'd be be grinning from ear to ear as he tried to guess what was in the box, andhe usually identified not only the gift but also its color ."
-Cheryl Landon Wilson, I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portairt of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter, Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 22, ISBN: 0671793527
I don't doubt that Michael Landon had this "superpower," but it was of the devil. People often refer to these types of abilities as "God-given," but Michael did not believe in the Christian God of the Bible, and he was open to a practice the Bible calls divination. This devilish practice Michael Landon used is also called being "a consulter with familiar spirits," that is, spirits that are familiar with others (like Landon's dead father) and/or to the diviner themselves, all of which are an abomination in the sight of the Lord God:
When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
-Deuteronomy 18:9-14
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
-2 Corinthians 11:13-15
On TV, Landon portrayed himself to be a "Christian," but when we Christians judge matters, we should judge not according to the appearance. We need to judge righteously according to the Word of God, and later, we'll look into some of the scripts of his shows to expose the wicked, false doctrines of the so-called "Christian" brand of television Landon created.
(Read "Unbiblical Cop-Outs: Don't Judge Me! here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
-1 Corinthians 2:15
Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
-John 7:24
(Read "False Converts vs Eternal Security" & "Why Millions of Believers on Jesus Are Going to Hell" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
-Matthew 15:8
Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
-Matthew 23:26
Landon's daughter also stated that his entire legacy (i.e. everything he was) continues through the TV programs he wrote and produced:
"Just watching those programs today, I see Dad's progression as an actor-writer-director-producer. He had accomplished so much, yet there was more he wanted to do. No question, he was cut off in his creative prime. Fortunately,thanks to the medium [TV] he understood and used so brilliantly, his legacy continues . "
-Cheryl Landon Wilson, I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portairt of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter, Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 10, ISBN: 0671793527
Little House on the Prairie is loosely based on the series of novels of the same title, written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, based on her life growing up in Pepin, Wisconsin. The books describe the daily life and adventures that would take place in the farming community in the wilderness back in the late 19th century, and about all the work needed to be done daily and in preperation for winter.
I have not read those books since I was in elementary school, so I can't remember a lot of details about them, but I do know there are massive differences between the real Laura Ingalls' account of events and the TV series. An example would be that the Ingalls in the TV show lived near town, worked in town almost daily, went to school in town daily, and attended church every week, but in the reality of the books, her family lived too far away from town to even attend weekly church there, and so they often "observed the Sabbath" in their home every week. Although my memory of the series is somewhat hazy, and although many will say she was a "Christian," I don't ever recall her profession of Christ in her writings; she more or less recalled her "relationship with God," but never a profession of His Son. (I may be wrong about that, so if someone finds a direct quote from her or her books, specifically on the matter of her profession of Christ, I'll take a look at it--I published this article in 2017, and to this day, I have not had anyone send me any proof to the contrary.)
(Read "Should Christian Keep the Sabbath?" here at creationliberty.com for more details; Keeping the Sabbath is not a New Testament commandment, and those who claim to keep it are hypocrites because they don't actually keep it according to the Old Testament law.)
However, there is one thing we can verify about the Ingalls and their beliefs: they were Freemasons. I believe this is one of the major reasons we don't see a profession of Christ coming from Laura Ingalls Wilder, and once you understand the religious philosophy behind Freemasonry and their Luciferian beliefs, it will be easy to understand why Laura and her family did not confess Christ.
(Read "Freemasonry: A Luciferian Beacon" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
The Order of the Eastern Star (a Masonic order for women) was created in 1850, and since the Ingalls family were dedicated Freemasons, all of the Ingalls daughters would have been members of the Eastern Star. In fact, in 1935, Carrie Ingalls, the younger sister of Laura, wrote about a fire that spread to the lodge she attended, namely the Mt. Aetna Chapter of the Order of the Easter Star in Keystone, South Dakota. (The Keystone Historical Museum has a section dedicated to Carrie Ingalls.) The lodge had burnt down along with all the records therein, but Carrie's testimony in her writings is enough to show her Freemasonic connections; a membership that was a heritage of her family. Laura's involvement in the Masonic lodge was also clear when I saw a report she gave to the Grand Matron of the Eastern Star after Laura was named District Deputy Grand Lecturer for the Easter Star in 1904:
"I realize with regret that my report is not as complete as it should be, and had fully intended to do better, but we are told that good intentions make excellent paving-stones. Mansfield and Hartville Chapters are in good condition and take great interest in the work of the Order. A strong friendship exists between these Chapters and visits are often exchanged which are a great help in keeping up the interest. Mountain Grove Chapter, I understand, is in good condition. I am sorry to report that Friendship Chapter of Ava has given up its Charter. [i.e. they likely didn't have enough interest to keep it active]Thanking you for the honor conferred upon me in my appointment, I am Fraternally yours ,"
-Laura Ingalls Wilder, Teresa Lynn, Little Lodges on the Prairie: Freemasonry & Laura Ingalls Wilder, Tranquility Press, 2014, ISBN: 9780990497707
Obviously, what happened in reality is a far cry from what happened in the TV series, so let's look at some of what Landon was conveying to audiences across America. Little House on the Prairie season 1, episode 11, "The Voice of Tinker Jones," is about the town (named Walnut Grove in the show) arguing about purchasing a bell for their church building, and I want to go over what the so-called "preacher" of the town says.
Before I get to that quote, however, I want to paint a picture for those of you who have never seen this show; specifically for the character "Reverend Robert Alden." First of all, he's called "reverend" as many preachers still are today, but I want readers to understand that titles were never used in the early church in the New Testament Scriptures, and more pointedly, the name of "reverend" was only used for one person in the Bible, and that is the Lord God Himself.
(Read "Titles Are Unbiblical in the Church" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.
-Psalm 111:9
The "Reverend" Alden is always dressed in a Roman Catholic-style all-black suit with a white collar, also known as a "cassock" with a "clerical collar." Over the years, many various church building organziations adopted this style of dress, including methodists and baptists, but to adopt anything out of the pagan Catholic Church would be an abomination in the sight of God, yet the average churchgoer doesn't see any offense in it because they don't study the Word of God when Christ rebukes the men who do such things. |
But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
-Matthew 23:5
Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
-Mark 7:13
(See The Ecclesiastical Gazette: Monthly Register of the Affairs of the Church of England, Vol. 33, 1871, p. 230, [Oxford University])
Getting back to "The Voice of Tinker Jones" episode of Little House on the Prairie, I would like to provide video clips for these scenes, but I want to be on the side of the law and avoid any potential copyright conflicts. Instead, I will write out the short speech that "Reverend" Alden gave to the church congregation, but I will be cutting it into pieces so I can make comments and provide Scripture on what is being said:
"ROBERT ALDEN: Almighty God, who has blessed the land that it should be fruitful, and bring forth whatsoever is needful for the life of man. [The congregation notices a man in the front has drifted off to sleep, and Alden moves forward towards him while speaking.] And has commanded us that we work with quietness and eat our own bread,even though we have sinned . [Alden places his hand on sleeping man's shoulders to wake him up]"
-National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Little House on the Prairie (1974-1975), "The Voice of Tinker Jones," Imavision, Season 1, Episode 11, 2002, ISBN: 0-9732929-0-3
No specific sins are mentioned from the Scripture here; instead, the implication is that if one falls asleep in a church building, or rather, if one falls asleep listening to the droning of "Reverend" Alden, they are therefore sinning against God. This is emphasized by the fact that, many times throughout the episode, it is said that the building itself is the "House" or "Temple of God," but the Word of God does not teach us that:
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
-1 Corinthians 6:19-20
"ALDEN: And grant us such seasonal weather as we may gather in the fruits of the earth, and ever rejoice in they goodness, to the praise of thy Holy Name, Amen.
CONGREGATION: Amen.
ALDEN: Thus endeth the prayer and the service for today. Now if the children would follow Mrs. Kennedy outside for Sunday School, I should like to speak to you briefly abouta subject that's very near to my heart ."
-National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Little House on the Prairie (1974-1975), "The Voice of Tinker Jones," Imavision, Season 1, Episode 11, 2002, ISBN: 0-9732929-0-3
What subject should be very near and dear to the heart of a preacher? Based on my understanding of the Word of God, it should not be the traditions of men, as we read earlier in Mark 7:13, but rather it should be the Word of God, sanctification (John 17:17-19), righteous judgment (John 7:24), the doctrine of Christ (Luke 24:47), the salvation of souls (Pro 11:30) — whatever could it be that near to the heart of "Reverend" Alden?
"ALDEN: It's good to be back here in Walnut Grove, among my friends, who I've really come to cherish among my monthly visits. My how this community's grown.You should all be very proud of your accomplishments. "
-National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Little House on the Prairie (1974-1975), "The Voice of Tinker Jones," Imavision, Season 1, Episode 11, 2002, ISBN: 0-9732929-0-3
That's not what the Bible teaches us. The Lord God has told us that it is pride, being proud of heart, that blinds us and leads us to destruction.
(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Pride" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
-Proverbs 16:5
Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken.
-Jeremiah 13:15
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
-Proverbs 16:18
Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.
-Psalm 101:5
Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts.
-Psalm 119:78
Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
-Psalm 138:6
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
-James 4:6
"ALDEN: You know, recently I spoke withmy superior in Mankato about my experiences here."
-National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Little House on the Prairie (1974-1975), "The Voice of Tinker Jones," Imavision, Season 1, Episode 11, 2002, ISBN: 0-9732929-0-3
We don't have "superiors" in the church of Christ, meaning that we don't have people we need to go check in with to make sure our every word and deed is taken account by upper-management. That's a Catholic concept that's been adopted by new-age church buildings.
(Read "Is The One-Pastor Church System Biblical?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
Christ's church has elders who oversee functions in the church, which consists of monitoring needs and appointing the right Christians to help with work, but they are not there as some sort of lofty corporate business manage to be worshiped and feared, as we commonly see today with pastors and deacons; the Lord Jesus Christ rebukes that type of worldly structure because the ministers are there to minister (i.e. the word 'minister' means "to serve"), not to be worshiped like some Catholic priest:
But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
-Matthew 20:25-28
For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
-Matthew 23:4
"ALDEN: I told him that the only thing thatI felt was missing was the sound of a church bell calling the faithful to worship every Sunday morning. Now isn't that what we need; a bell for our church here in Walnut Grove?
CONGREGATION: Yes! Oh I think it's a good idea! So do I!"
-National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Little House on the Prairie (1974-1975), "The Voice of Tinker Jones," Imavision, Season 1, Episode 11, 2002, ISBN: 0-9732929-0-3
Is that what you honestly believe a poor country community needs? He does not mention extra hands for labor, nor people to be charitable in their times of suffering and struggle. No, Alden thinks a bell is what is most important. This is simply ludicrous.
Alden sent the children out of the church building and set aside the preaching of the Word of God (which he is not capable of preaching anyway because there is nothing from the Holy Spirit in his words) so he could talk about the town acquiring more vain, worldly stuff that will do no charitable good unto anyone, and that's what is "near and dear" to his wicked heart.
And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
-Mark 4:18-19
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
-1 John 2:15
"ALDEN: Well, I propose a special collection.I think we should all search our hearts and our pocketbooks ,"
-National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Little House on the Prairie (1974-1975), "The Voice of Tinker Jones," Imavision, Season 1, Episode 11, 2002, ISBN: 0-9732929-0-3
Now THAT is much more realistic because that is the attitude of a typical church building preacher. Most of the preachers in modern-day American church-buildings are far more concerned with members searching their pocketbooks than anything else. Sadly, Alden's "superiors" are likely sitting on all the money they would ever need to provide a bell for that building if they wanted to, but again, it's a burden they would not lift with one of their fingers.
(Read "Is Title a Christian Requirement?" here at creationliberty.com for more details; the modern-day "storehouse tithe" preaching is not Biblical in the New Testament dispensation.)
For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
-Matthew 23:4
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
-1 Timothy 6:10
(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Charity" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
A local metalsmith named "Tinker Jones" (hints the title of the episode) decides to stop the town's fighting by secretly crafting a bell, and he enlists the help of the children in town. He's a deaf man and cannot communicate with words, so he draws out plans and tells the children to go steal the metal they need from the farmers, hunters, and woodworkers all around town, and like obedient thieves who have never learned the Word of God from the "Reverend" Alden, they violate Biblical principles and commit sin in order to accomplish what they think is right in their own eyes.
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
-Proverbs 14:12
Thou shalt not steal.
-Exodus 20:15
For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
-Romans 13:9
But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.
-1 Peter 4:15
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
-Exodus 20:17
But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
-Ephesians 5:3
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
-Colossians 3:5
At the end of the episode, instead of preaching the truth of the Word of God and rebuking their sins, everyone smiles and cries tears of joy over the covetousness and theft, and praise their children for their wicked deeds. These are the types of things taught in the shows produced by Michael Landon.
Of course, being part of mainstream TV, Michael Landon couldn't leave out episodes involving the pagan Christmas rituals. Season 1, Episode 15, "Christmas at Plum Creek" opens with townsfolk hanging all their pagan decorations that were designed to appease the sun god and moon goddess of the witches. (I also found it hilarious that there is "snow" on the ground, but green summer leaves on all the trees in what is supposed to be December in Wisconsin.)
(Read "Christmas: The Rejection of Jesus" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
As you progress through the many episodes of Little House on the Prairie, you'll notice that they steer clear of mentioning the name of Jesus Christ, until they get to pagan celebration that is not of God, like Christmas, and then suddenly Christ is mentioned. Charles Ingalls, played by Michael Landon, tells his daughter what Christmas is:
"CHARLES: What's Christmas? Let's see if I can show you. [picks up his daughter and takes her to the window] There. Now, you see that star up there? That real big one? Well, a long, long time ago, a star like that appeared in the sky, except it was much, much bigger, and much brighter. Now lots of people saw it, but only a few people knew what it meant.Some shepherds, three kings, and three wise men, and they followed that star a long, long way. They finally came to a manger, and you know what they found? A baby; Baby Jesus, and He was God's Son, and God gave Him to the world because He loved us. So Christmas is the Baby Jesus' birthday. "
-National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Little House on the Prairie (1974-1975), "Christmas at Plum Creek," Imavision, Season 1, Episode 15, 2002, ISBN: 0-9732929-0-3
There are so many things wrong with the story Landon just told, it's hard to know where to begin. In a nutshell, he told a story that is often portrayed in pictures, porcelan figurines, and lighting displays, but not what the Bible says. I highly recommend readers check out our teaching on Christmas, and how modern day church buildings are guilty of deceiving and being deceived on the subject; the article will also explain the details of the witchcraft and paganism of Rome that created the Christmas traditions, which the Lord God has clearly stated in His Word is an abomination in His sight.
First of all, the shepherds didn't know anything about the star, nor what it meant; they were told directly by an angel messenger about it. (Luke 2:9) Also, the shepherds didn't travel very far at all, they were in the same country. (Luke 2:8)
There were not "three kings and three wise men," there were wise men that had come from a far country, following the star. The Bible never says there were three of them. We have no idea how many wise men there were; people simply look at paintings and figurines of a manger scene, see three of them, and think the Bible says there were three wise men. (Mat 2:1)
Also, they did not find Jesus in a manger. It is true that Christ was placed in a manger after He was birthed by Mary, but they didn't stay in the stable; they were moved into a house as soon as a place became available, and the wise men visited them in the house since the star had moved over top of the house they were staying in. (Mat 2:10-11)
Of course, it is true that God so loved the world that He did not withhold His own Son from us, which is the very well-known verse from John 3:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
-John 3:16
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
-John 3:18-19
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
-Matthew 1:21
In a later scene, Charles explains to his daughter the magic of Santa Claus on the night of Christmas Eve when she's still wide awake:
"CHARLES: Hey, what are you doing out of bed so late? Something wrong? [Carrie nods] What is it?
CARRIE: Santa Claus comes down the chimney.
CHARLES:That's right, he comes down the chimney.
CARRIE: If he comes down the chimney, he get all burned up.
CHARLES: [laughs] Is that what you're worried about? [Carrie nods] Well, I'll tell you,Santa Claus is kind of like magic. See, he'll just pop down that chimney, pop right back up again and never even touch the fire , but he won't pop down that chimney at all if everybody isn't asleep in their bed. Think we ought to get in our bed? [Carrie nods]"
-National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Little House on the Prairie (1974-1975), "Christmas at Plum Creek," Imavision, Season 1, Episode 15, 2002, ISBN: 0-9732929-0-3
The average audience member watching this show things it's so sweet and so cute to have a father LIE to his daughter and teach her the ways of the heathen. Parents who teach their children about Santa Claus coming down the chimney with presents are LYING to their children, and the Bible says that God hates false witnesses that speak lies.
Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
-Colossians 3:9
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
-Proverbs 6:16-19
A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin.
-Proverbs 26:28
Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.
-Proverbs 12:22
Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
-Jeremiah 10:2-4
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
-2 Corinthians 7:10
(Read "The Cure for Cancer" here at creationliberty.com for more details; See also IMDB, "Little House on the Prairie: Episode List," Season 2, Episode 7, retrieved Sept 21, 2017, [imdb.com/title/tt0071007/episodes?season=2])
The episode has some very sad moments where the mother dies, leaving the children orphaned, and even the puppy they received as a gift from their mother dies too. (The little girl names the puppy "Mine.") However, before she dies, the mother is asked by her daughter if the puppy will go to heaven, to which the mother answers "Of course"—that's another lie because the Bible teaches us that animals have life (Lev 17:11), but there is nowhere the Bible indicates that animals have an eternal soul or enter heaven. This is a common lie of convenience parents tell their children, but it is a lie nonetheless.
(See National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Little House on the Prairie (1975-1976), "Remember Me," Imavision, Season 2, Episode 7, 2002, ASIN: B00009QG5P)
More specifically, the child asks if the puppy will go to heaven if he's very good. There is no correcting the little girl to tell her that, not only do animals not have eternal souls like people do, but that no one enters heaven by their good works; they can only come to the Father through the Son, Jesus Christ, if they have repented and come to faith in Him to have their spirits washed clean from their sin by the power of His blood, to be saved from the wrath of the Almighty God.
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
-Romans 5:9
In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
-Ephesians 1:7
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
-Titus 3:5
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
-Jeremiah 17:9
Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
-Ecclesiastes 7:3
Highway to Heaven is also portrayed as a "Christian" TV show, but it also has the "tug-at-your-heartstrings" style of writing while teaching false doctrine and unbiblical practices at the same time. (It's very similar to how Little House on the Prairie was written.) In the first episode of season 1, entitled "Highway to Heaven," Jonathan Smith (the "angel" played by Landon) travels to a retirement home to be a maintenance worker for the building.
The Bible clearly teaches us that God's angels are His servants, created specifically for delivering His messages (Luke 1:11-20, Zec 1:9, Mark 16:5-8), since the Bible tells us that "no man hath seen God at any time." (John 1:18) Though the Bible directly teaches that God cannot lie (Tts 1:2), which means the angels delivering His messages will also be unable to lie, the "angel" Jonathan in Highway to Heaven starts lying within the first few minutes of the show.
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
-John 8:44
(See Arts & Entertainment Network [A&E], Highway to Heaven (1984-1985), "Highway to Heaven," Genesis International, Season 1, Episode 1, 2004, ISBN: 0767076079)
A couple of minutes later, Jonathan lies again. The secretary showed him around, but never gave him her name, yet he "knew" her name was Leslie, and when she asked him to explain how he knew, he lied and said the owner told him when she wasn't in the room.
Jonathan plants some new flowers around the edges of the building, and the following day, they are fully grown and blooming. Leslie asks how that was possible, and Jonathan lies once again by telling her that it must have been the chemical he mixed into them, but when she asks what the chemical was, he lies and says he can't remember.
There are just a few examples of the many lies that are told throughout Highway to Heaven. Jonathan lies to people all the time in every episode, and I just want readers to understand this before we continue; he lies about who he is, what he's done, where he's been, who he knows, what he knows, etc, which, in the end, communicates to an audience that it's alright to lie as long as it's for a reason you personally think is "good."
(Read "God Does Not Justify Lies" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
I am not saying that no one may ever meet an angel and be unaware of it:
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
-Hebrews 13:2
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
-2 Corinthians 11:13-14
"I can recall two things that Dad asked of his children. He wanted us to be first of all honest, and secondly, assertive.'Don't ever lie to me,' Dad said. 'I always want to hear the truth, no matter what.' "
-Cheryl Landon Wilson, I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portairt of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter, Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 63, ISBN: 0671793527
Cheryl tries to defend Landon being a great father, but he was a total hypocrite. He would teach his children never to lie, and then write TV shows in which the character he played lied all the time; not only lying, but worse, claiming that Jonathan Smith was "sent by God" to do so. Cheryl later admitted that, "
-Cheryl Landon Wilson, I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portairt of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter, Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 148, ISBN: 0671793527
Later in the episode, Jonathan goes to a bar to keep an eye on his co-worker's brother, Mark Gordon, an ex-cop who has a drinking problem. Mark gets into a fight in the back alley, or rather, he just starts taking a beating without fighting back. Jonathan steps in to help, and is punched across one cheek without taking any damage, then punched across his other cheek without taking damage, and says, "I turned the other cheek," right before beating the guy senseless.
(See Arts & Entertainment Network [A&E], Highway to Heaven (1984-1985), "Highway to Heaven," Genesis International, Season 1, Episode 1, 2004, ISBN: 0767076079)
Of course, most Americans would know Jonathan is referring to the Bible in Matthew 5:
Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
-Matthew 5:39-42
(Read "Can Christians Kill in Self-Defense?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
Most people don't understand what these verses mean in Matthew 5. Jesus was explaining to the Jews a different way of thinking than they had traditionally been brought up with; namely, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. (Exd 21:24) However, because Christ was starting the Church of the New Testament dispensation, and the Gospel was to go out to the Gentile nations, things were supposed to operate a bit differently. (Heb 7:11-12)
The problem was not the punishment of an "eye for an eye" that God set up as a law for the Jews, but the problem was that people were using that law to seek revenge.
Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
-Romans 12:17-19
Many events take place during this episode, which I won't go into detail about because it would take too long. What Jonathan is attempting to do is to get people to have fun, laugh, and enjoy their lives, but this is not what the Bible teaches, and it's not what God's angel messengers came to tell mankind.
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
-James 4:9
For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.
-Ecclesiastes 7:6
I'm not saying it's wrong to play, or laugh, or have fun, but there is a time and place for everything. This TV show is attempting to get people to believe that all God really wants for people is to laugh, play, and love their lives, but the Bible says:
He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
-John 12:25
Mark's suspicions of Jonathan grow after he claims he's an angel, and so Jonathan pleads with him not to go to the police:
"I'll be gone by the time you get back, and I won't have finished my job. You're gonna' hurt a whole bunch of innocent people for no reason, andall because you don't trust your fellow man. There's an awful lot of good people in this world Mark. I'm just here to try to help them. "
-Arts & Entertainment Network (A&E), Highway to Heaven (1984-1985), "Highway to Heaven," Genesis International, Season 1, Episode 1, 2004, ISBN: 0767076079
Any student of Christ's doctrine will know this supposed "angel" is actually a devil in disguise because he's teaching the opposite of what the Bible teaches:
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
-Romans 3:10-12
In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.
-Psalm 56:11
The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.
-2 Samuel 22:3
Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.
-Hosea 10:13
But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
-2 Corinthians 1:9
For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
-1 Timothy 4:10
Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
-Jeremiah 17:5
Jonathan visits the owner of the property, and the owner demands $116,000, which is too expensive for anyone to purchase. Jonathan has already demonstrated his abililty to produce bicycles, flowers, raw steaks, dishes, and sour cream out of thin air (I'm not kidding, that's what actually happens in the show), but, according to Jonathan, it would "anger God" if he produced $116,000. So his new friend Mark, who now believes he's an angel, convinces Jonthan to have the old folks pool together their monthly retirement checks in order to place a bet at the horse track and have Jonathan pick the winning horse for them; Jonathan reluctantly agrees and they put all these elderly residents, who have a hard time just walking around, into the the back of a pickup truck and drive them to the race track.
Because Jonathan's so-called "god" apparently approves of gambling for money, a miracle ensures the elderly residents get the money they need to buy the building. Mark is so impressed, he decides he wants to travel with Jonathan and "help people" by driving him places. (Is it because angels need cars to get around?)
In episode 3 of season 1, the false doctrine gets worse, as I began to notice when a young boy (who is dying) asked Jonathan if he was ever afraid of dying, Jonathan replies, "I was once." I could already deduce where this was going, and I'll get back to that in a moment. At the end of the episode, Jonathan supposedly helps the young boy during his transition of dying, telling him to stare at the moon until he could touch it (again, I'm not making this up, this is actually in the episode), and then once the boy declared that he touched it, Jonathan said, "You're home."
(See Arts & Entertainment Network (A&E), Highway to Heaven (1984-1985), "To Touch the Moon," Genesis International, Season 1, Episode 3, 2004, ISBN: 0767076079)
Not only does this imply that one goes to heaven without Christ, but it also implies that Jonathan's "God" lives on the moon, and that those who die go there as well. This also wasn't surprising after considering what Michael Landon's son Mark said in the aforementioned quote, that he believed Michael was traveling through space and visiting other star systems as a spirit being; it seems like Michael believed this, and attempted to convey his paganism to others through the TV shows he produced.
In episode 4, Jonathan uses his "special powers" to make a gangster's pocket knife stick so the blade wouldn't come out, and after Jonathan smiles, wishes him a good day, and walks past him, Mark Gordon says, "I guess it's easy to be cool when you've already died once." That's the second piece of evidence that struck my curiousity; it seems that Jonathan Smith, who claims to be an angel, was once a man who died, went to "heaven," (which could be the moon for all we can tell from the show) and became an angel.
The Bible does not teach that men die and become angels, nor does it teach that they go to heaven unless they repent (i.e. have grief and godly sorrow of wrongdoing) and have the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ as their salvation. And it should be noted that the judgment of God is nowhere to be found in any of Landon's shows.
(Read "Is Repentance Part of Salvation?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
-1 Timothy 2:5
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
-Hebrews 9:27
Here's the setup: Jonathan Smith was once a man named Arthur Thompson, who was a lawyer, born in 1917 and died in 1948, leaving behind his wife and daughter. After dying of lung cancer, God decreed that he was a not a very good person, so God puts Arthur on probationary duty as an angel to prove himself on earth, and if he did enough good deeds, he could become a full-fledged angel. (Of course, this is absurd, anti-Biblical propaganda, but we should expect nothing different from Hollywood.)
Highway to Heaven would be Landon's last production, as Victor French (the man who played Mark Gordon) would die of cancer before they could produce a sixth season. Landon had come up with another script for a show called "Us," but it never made it to TV because two years later, Michael Landon also died of cancer.
(Read "The Cure for Cancer" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
Though Landon's shows were filled with the intent of promoting moral "goodness," Landon himself lived a life of sin; for example, Landon had multiple affairs in his lifetime. Landon married his first wife, Dodie Levy-Fraser, in 1956, and divorced her in 1960 to so he could marry Lynn Noe, who worked with Landon on the set of Bonanza. Landon then divorced Noe in 1982 so he could marry Cindy Clerico, who was a makeup artist on Little House on the Prairie.
Though Landon's adultery still remains mostly unknown to the general public, it's not hard to piece together with a little research. Landon filed for divorce from his first wife in 1960, the same year he met Lynn Noe (his second wife) on the set of Bonanza. At that time, Lynn Noe had a seven year old daughter named Cheryl (aforemented), who would later become Michael's step daughter, and in Cheryl's book (which she wrote after her step father's death in 1992), she gave more details:
"According to everything I've ever been told by both my parents, it was love at first sight. Their eyes met, and, as Dad explained,he knew in that instant that he 'had to have her,' that this woman had to be his mate."
-Cheryl Landon Wilson, I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portairt of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter, Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 19, ISBN: 0671793527
That's not "love;" that's called "lust at first sight." Cheyrl goes on to describe how Michael would park his car outside Lynn Noe's apartment and watch her comings and goings at night with other men, and that he even rented the apartment above her so he could watch her, eventually divorcing his wife so he could marry her. And that so-called "love" dulled with age because, as I already pointed out, he ended up divorcing her in 1982 to pick up the next young lady that came along.
"Their attraction was fatal to his first marriage, no question.Dad repeatedly said he never really had been in love with his first wife, Dodie, and had only married her because he couldn't bear to disappoint her son Mark. "
-Cheryl Landon Wilson, I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portairt of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter, Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 21, ISBN: 0671793527
Cheryl goes on to point out that he would use a similar excuse when he divorced Lynn. Cheryl's testimony best describes Michael's lies and deception:
"When Dad [i.e. Michael Landon] was interviewed by Barbara Walters in May of 1978,he said, 'Everything I am today I owe to Lynn.' (Barbara Walters considered her interview with Dad as one of her most disappointing. 'He couldn't have been nicer,' she said. 'He was happy, easygoing, pleasant, but we never got through.' She thought he 'was afraid to reveal himself.'Six months after that interview, Dad left Mom. )"
-Cheryl Landon Wilson, I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portairt of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter, Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 21, ISBN: 0671793527
Notice that Michael Landon did not NOT say that everything he was he owed to Jesus; that's because he was never born again. As wicked a woman as Barbara Walters is (i.e. she needs to come to repentance and faith in Christ), even she knew something was off, and the truth she couldn't get Landon to confess was the fact is that Lynn Noe was aging, and likely, Michael simply wanted a younger model to be his wife.
Cheryl recalls:
"I saw Mom and Dad's relationship had changed a few years after the move to Beverly Hills, during the seventeenth year of their marriage. I never saw them fight, butwhen I came home from school, I sensed something was in the air . 'You really should talk to your mother,' Dad once told me angrily, 'she's got some crazy ideas. I don't know what's got into her.' Another time, he pulled me aside and said, 'You've got to talk to your mom. She's behaving so strangely.' In fact,Mom wasn't behaving strangely—he was! And he was trying to shift the responsibility onto her. He was caught up in living a lie. The man who demanded honesty from others was dealing in deceit. The truth is, Dad was involved with a woman half his age, a woman a few years younger even than I. "
-Cheryl Landon Wilson, I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portairt of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter, Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 148, ISBN: 0671793527
The Bible clearly tells us that the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh is not of God:
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
-1 John 2:16
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
-John 3:19-20
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
-Ephesians 2:8-9
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
-2 Corinthians 7:10
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
-James 4:6
"I have to say, no matter what he did,Dad had the greatest heart I've ever known ."
-Cheryl Landon Wilson, I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portairt of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter, Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 153, ISBN: 0671793527
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
-Jeremiah 17:9
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
-Isaiah 5:20
"Only 3 percent of pancreatic cancer patients and 5 percent of liver cancer sufferers survive for five years. According to the American Cancer Society, studies linksmoking and alcohol use with these forms of malignancy. Landon has admitted that he indulged too much in both. Says retired NBC publicist Bill Kiley: 'We used to say we bet his [Michael Landon's] socks smelled smoky,because he inhaled so deeply .'"
-Mark Goodman, "Goodbye, Little Joe," People Weekly, July 15, 1991, retrieved Sept 28, 2017, [people.com/archive/cover-story-goodbye-little-joe-vol-36-no-1]
Cheryl Landon commented on his heavy use of alcohol and tobacco, and even talked about his gluttony:
"True,he smoked too much, and after the divorce from Mom, drank too much as well, which he himself admitted. And his diet was overloaded with fats and junk food. "
-Cheryl Landon Wilson, I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portairt of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter, Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 9, ISBN: 0671793527
She also mentioned Michael's "overusing perscription drugs," which is what the Bible calls "sorcery." (i.e. the root of the word 'pharmaceutical' is pharmakeia, which is Latin for 'sorcery'). He was taking Miltown (or Meprobamate), which is a minor tranquilizer, and she said he was "popping up to thirty pills a day." In combination with his heavy drinking and smoking, it was only by the grace of God that he didn't die sooner; the Lord God being long suffering towards men, that all should come to repentance.
(Read "The Bible vs Alcohol" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
-2 Peter 3:9
"Dad smoked a lot. My husband Jim told meDad positively loved smoking, almost as much as he loved drinking ... Dad preferred Carltonsand, treated each cigarette as if it were his last, drawing the smoke in 'all the way down to his toes.' He'd toss down vodka with the same abandonment. Jim said Dad preferred cheap, rotgut stuff rather than expensive brands.He drank it straight, too, without any ice cubes or mixer. "
-Cheryl Landon Wilson, I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portairt of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter, Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 171-172, ISBN: 0671793527
The purpose of my exposing these facts is to make sure people understand that Michael Landon never had, nor wanted, anything to do with Christ and the doctrines of God's Word. It's also absurd that when he was dying, people felt so sorry for him that he had cancer, when he caused it by his sinful practices in the first place. The "god" Landon believed in was a god of excess and indulgence, but the Christian God of the Bible teaches the opposite.
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
-2 Corinthians 7:1
Cheryl Landon described her own visits to a psychic (i.e. a witch) to foretell her future. She mentioned the witch's prediction that Michael Landon would "change, and not for the better," and I mention this to preface the following quote from Cheryl:
"I wonder sometimes whether, if I had gone to Dad and told him what she had said, would he have changed the course of his actions? Probably not. Even thoughhe himself had moments of psychic awareness , I think he would have found the whole business too threatening."
-Cheryl Landon Wilson, I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portairt of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter, Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 124, ISBN: 0671793527
The fact is that his family knew about "psychic" phenomena that surrounded Michael Landon. To Cheryl's credit, she did distance herself from things having to do with psychic clairvoyance, claiming she dedicated herself to "God," but in reality, she follows the Catholic god she was raised on, and for those of you born again in Christ, who know the truth about Catholicism, it's also another form of witchcraft.
(Read "Idolatry: The Goddess Called Mary" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
I think it's also important to note that, just as I did not find any mention of Christ from Michael Landon, I did not find one mention of Christ anywhere in Cheryl's book either; meaning, a confession that He is the only way to eternal life. (She claims some of her family have become "born again," but her book is jam packed full of excuses for sin, without any mention of Christ.) There is one place I saw the name "Jesus Christ" in her book, but it was her quoting Michael using His name as a cuss word in vain. She idolized her father so much, she preferred to believe a lie, rather than face the truth; namely, that Michael Landon ended up in hell, and Cheryl will end up in the same place if she doesn't heed the warnings of God's Word. (I'll have to address her more later to demostrate the full deception of her and Michael's beliefs.)
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
-Matthew 10:32-33
Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
-Luke 12:51-53
(Read "Did Christ Come to Bring Peace?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
-Psalm 68:5
"'Every since I can remember, I've believed in life after death,' the superstar says. 'Butwhen I heard my father's voice speaking to me at his funeral in 1959 , it proved that belief in a very strong way. I had knelt before my father's coffin, sobbing. Suddenly I felt a soft touch brush against my shoulder. ThenI heard my father's voice. He said to me, "Don't worry kid. It's okay. I'm fine. Everything's going to be all right." I didn't mention it to anyone, but from that moment onward I knew my father was close to me. Even though his body was now quiet, I knew that a spritual part of him lived on very close to me.I knew he could communicate with me and it comforted me ,' said Landon."
-See Weekly World News, Vol. 12, No. 33, May 21, 1991, p. 12, ISSN: 0199574X; See also Sherry Hansen-Steiger & Brad Steiger, Hollywood and the Supernatural, self-published, p. 117, ISBN: 0312050984; Though Weekly World News is a tabloid, this testimony is verified in other books, and it matches Cheryl Landon's testimony about her father's communication with the devil posing as his dead father's spirit.
Of course, everything wasn't fine. His father was a Jew who rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, and since Christ is the only way to heaven, his father went to hell. The spirits of the dead do not float around the earth; they go straight to the judgment seat of God, and Landon also went to hell without Christ.
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
-Hebrews 9:27
And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
-Leviticus 20:6
And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
-2 Kings 21:6
"I felt my father's presence with me, enlightening my memories, helping me to commit to paper the feelings I had.I really heard my father speaking to me from the other dimension, filling my mind with just the right words. The story came so fast and was so right. In three days, the script was complete."
-Michael Landon, quoted by Brad & Sherry Steiger, Hollywood and the Supernatural, Berkley Books, 1992, p. 17, ISBN: 9780425133392
The above quote with Michael Landon confessing his communication with this spirit applies contextually to the film Sam's Son, which Landon wrote and produced. The demonic channelling allowed him to finish the script in three days, and the devils allowed him to get financial backing for it in even less time:
"'To add to the miracle,' Landon said, 'financing—usually a lengthy process in the film business—wasobtained in just two days after the completion of the script .'"
-Sherry Hansen-Steiger & Brad Steiger, Hollywood and the Supernatural, self-published, p. 118, ISBN: 0312050984
Knowing what I've learned about Michael Landon, before ever seeing the movie, the title Sam's Son was obviously in reference to "Samson," the man in the book of Judges who God gave great strength for keeping a Nazarite vow that he received from birth. (Jdg 13:1-5) When I looked up this really boring and ridiculous movie, the main character of the movie is shown watching a movie about Samson and believes he got special strength from his long hair. Landon also wore his hair for that reason, believing it gave him special strength, but Landon never took a Nazartie vow, and God commanded Christian men to keep their hair cut.
(Read "Hair Length in the Bible" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
The movie is an indirect story of Michael Landon's life, although this is very obvious to anyone who knows Landon's real name, Orowitz, because that's the last name of the main character in the movie. It shows the main character being bullied and good at throwing javalin, both which Michael Landon experienced growing up, but the story has the main character gaining strength from long hair.
When Landon died, Los Angeles Times reported:
"His skills brought him an athletic scholarship from USC, anda belief that, like Samson, his strength was somehow linked to his long hair . True or not, the tenet became real when some disapproving fellow athletes at USC forcefully gave him a crew cut. Landon found that he had lost 50 feet off his best marks and then injured ligaments in his arm by trying to make up that distance."
-Burt A. Folkart, "TV Actor Michael Landon Is Dead at 54," Los Angeles Times, July 2, 1991, retrieved Oct 11, 2017, [articles.latimes.com/1991-07-02/local/me-1816_1_actor-michael-landon]
Of course, as with a typical Landon production, the main character has to lie his way through difficulties, and it is painted as "justified" throughout the show. The main character was picked on for being a Jew, but then gained a college scholarship on throwing javalin, which is what Michael Landon experienced growing up; most of the main plot points were a reflection of Landon's history.
At the end of the movie, Landon plays the boy when he's older and has returned to his home town to show everyone the movie he produced. In the movie, he's very popular and everyone loves him, and he ends up speaking some harsh words at a mean guy to get some sort of revenge for how the man treated him and his father. That's really it; there isn't anything else to the movie except to portray that if you work really hard, you can gain fame, forturne, and revenge, which is the type of message that devils would send.
Cheyrl Landon talked about her father's reoccuring nightmare that he might end up poor:
"He suffered nightmares when he was a child and they continued to plague him as a grown-up.The nightmares had to do with his parents and being poor. "
-Cheryl Landon Wilson, I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portairt of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter, Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 60, ISBN: 0671793527
Though Landon used many of the events of his life to help tell stories through his movies and TV shows, we cannot discount the fact that he confessed to demonic channelling. The real question is: How much demonic channelling was used in the production of all his shows? Though we can never know how much direct demonic influence was put into his programs, what we can know is that they teach unbiblical, anti-Christian doctrines that lead people to hell.
Cheryl told a story about Michael telling her to pick a number among pool balls and he would guess the number she was thinking of. She wanted to trick him, so she secretly thought of two numbers, and after a moment, he got frustrated and told her he asked for one number only. She then thought of one number and he guessed it right:
"I honestly believe my dad had telepathic powers. Whatever it's called, he had some kind of special powers , some extra gift. That's why he was able to connect with others. You knowhe had a natural star on the palm of his left hand, and it was no gimmick left over from his 'Teenage Werewolf' days, either ."
-Cheryl Landon Wilson, I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portairt of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter, Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 63, ISBN: 0671793527
A natural star, like the pentegrams used in witchcraft. I've read that Landon believed this symbol gave him special powers, but all of this is not of God, it is of the devil, and Landon used these demonic influences to preach a false message.
Although his daughter couldn't quite understand what was going on before Landon died, those of us who have studied the Word of God, concerning what it says about witchcraft, would understand the demonic activity that was plaguing him right before he died:
"That evening we watched him struggle.He raised his fists and clawed at the air. I heard him mumbling, but I couldn't make out the words. He seemed to be running through various scenes in his life. [If she couldn't make out the words, how would she know that?]'No, not yet,' he said clearly, 'I'm not ready. No, I don't want to go.' The next morning we came up and stood around his bed. The nurse told us Dad had spent the nightraising his hands and pawing at the air as though he was trying to keep something away ."
-Cheryl Landon Wilson, I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portairt of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter, Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 210, ISBN: 0671793527
The fact is that Landon did not spend his life communicating to the spirit of his dead father; he spent his life communicating with a familiar spirit, or in other words, a devil that posed as his dead father. Again, the Lord God made it very clear to us that communing with these devils is an abomination in His sight.
Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.
-Leviticus 19:31
There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
-Deuteronomy 18:12
At the beginning of this article, I quoted Michael Landon in a comment he made about "God." There's a little more to that quote, so let's read all of it:
"I've just started—have expressed the things I most deeply believe.I believe in God, I believe in family, I believe in truth between people, I believe in the power of love. I believe that we really are created in God's image, that there is God in all of us. "
-Michael Landon, quoted by Cheryl Landon Wilson, I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portairt of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter, Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 201, ISBN: 0671793527
Landon claimed to believe in God, but again, he never confessed the Lord Jesus Christ. He practiced witchcraft, drank heavily, and smoked himself to death. He claimed to believe in family, but divorced two of his three families. He claimed to believe in truth, but told many lies and covered them up with jokes. He claimed to believe in love, but abandoned those God commanded us to love. He claimed to believe being created in God's image, but cared nothing for the Word of God, and in the end, what he really believed was that God was in everyone, which is a pagan belief known as "pantheism."
Landon's belief in pantheism is not a surprise to me since I know that Michael and Cheryl both studied the same source materials as Rick Warren, who also believes in pantheism. While Landon was on his death bed, Cheryl brought him materials to read:
"Besides my own writings,I brought books from the Course in Miracles I was taking ... When he was too ill to read, I read aloud to him.He really enjoyed them. "
-Cheryl Landon Wilson, I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portairt of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter, Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 205, ISBN: 0671793527
Helen Schucman's book, A Course in Miracles, teaches numerous anti-Biblical hereies. For example, the book teaches there is no such thing as sin (p. 182), Christ's dying on the cross had no meaning (p. 425), looking to the cross for salvation is a pathetic error (p. 52), Jesus Christ is nothing more than a symbol of many pagan gods (p. 58), regonizing yourself is the same as recognizing God (p. 147), and the "Oneness" of God is found in your own power (p. 125). This is the false god Michael worshipped, and the same one that Cheryl still worships to this day. I won't cover specific details on A Course in Miracles in this article because I have already exposed it in another article, which you can read if you click here: "Wolves in Costume: Rick Warren - Warren's Pagan Foundation"
(Helen Schucman, A Course in Miracles: Combined Volume, Foundation for Inner Peace, 2008, ISBN: 9781883360269)
The postscript of Cheryl's book reflects that the Course in Miracles doctrine of one's own individual power being the "Oneness," is the false god that Michael served:
"I am a very spiritual person. Like Dad,I believe in God and the oneness of mankind ."
-Cheryl Landon Wilson, I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portairt of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter, Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 205, ISBN: 0671793527
What's even more sickening is Cheryl's response to this; she said she was "overcome by the magnitude" of what her dad was saying because he "asserted his faith in the Almighty," which is a lie. I'm not saying Michael Landon didn't believe in a "god;" I'm sure he did, just as pagans believe in a "god." However, I've already clearly demonstrated that the "god" Michael Landon worshipped was NOT the Christian God of the Bible, and as far as I've read, his eldest daughter Cheryl doesn't believe in the Christian God of the Bible either. (i.e. They would both CLAIM to believe in Him, but their doctrine and actions don't match their words.)
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
-Matthew 15:8
How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
-Psalm 119:103-105
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
-1 Corinthians 2:14
"At the conclusion, Dad said very simply,'Life has been good to me. It's not like I missed an awful lot. I had a pretty good lick here. I am going to fight it. Every moment gets a little more important after something like this.' Then he paused and looked straight at the camera. 'So,live every minute, guys .'"
-Cheryl Landon Wilson, I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portairt of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter, Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 182-183, ISBN: 0671793527
Not long after, Eugene Orowitz died. He sold his soul to Hollywood, and paid the price for it.
He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
-John 12:25
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
-Matthew 16:25
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
-Mark 8:36
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
-Matthew 7:21-27
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
-John 10:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
-Romans 10:9-13