Adventures in Odyssey, audio drama adventures for children, is very popular amongst evangelicals. It is owned and produced by Focus on the Family, an extremely unscriptural and heretical organization which on its own is enough reason to leave it alone. Heretical groups that rely on extraBiblical viewpoints are not going to be producing things that are Biblically edifying. More on that below.
I understand that people don’t like to hear this kind of reproof but who and what is our authority? Is it Scripture or our feelings and personal opinions and pride? God is not glorified in error, worldliness or sin. The Scriptures make that clear. They must be rejected, not embraced. We are very wise to test everything by the Word of God rightly divided and exegetically interpreted. The God of glory glorifies in that and this is precisely how He, God the Spirit, works in leading, guiding and directing His people in His truth. And God's Word commands contending for the faith (Ju 1:3), so contending we must do.
The following are some of many reasons why Adventures in Odyssey should not be entertainment for your children or the children of others.
1. Adventures in Odyssey is owned and developed by Focus on the Family (FOTF). FOTF is an extremely unscriptural and heretical organization which on its own is enough reason to not touch it with a ten foot pole. This organization is laden through and through with every sort of heresy including psychology, neo-evangelicalism and emerging church heresies.
James Dobson, Focus on the Family’s founder, is a psychologist, or better coined: psychoheretic, who embraces the occultist science of psychology and promoting men who use it like he does. His errors and heresies are too numerous to all mention here. Dobson “gospel” is a seriously false and perverted “gospel” of self-esteemism, self-love, self-image, and psychology (Gal. 1:6-7; 2 Cor 11:4), and he is condemned by the Word of God as an accursed man (Gal. 1:8-9) and false brother (Gal. 2:4-5), of which you can be well enlightened here: James Dobson’s Gospel of Self-Esteem & Psychology. In this ebook you will find loads of false teachings of Dobson exposed.
There is no “ministry” that has sown the seeds of psychoheresy among “evangelicals” more deeply than FOTF, and they have made the humanistic teachings of self-esteem and self-love the pillars of their organization. It contradicts everything about the Bible and plainly corrupts the “gospel of Christ [that] is the power of God unto salvation” (Rom 1:16). FOTF has been a chief promoter of psychological counselling and it is the foremost referral service amongst evangelicals for professional psychotherapists. So-called “Christian” psychology is both a contradiction in terms and the chief dispenser of "self" teachings and other heretical teachings in churches, but evangelicals take an affection to it. He has been confronted and reproved many times by professing Christians but has rejected every rebuke (Ti 3:10-11). He is causing serious heretical divisions by his unbiblical, worldly and ungodly teachings that are contrary to sound doctrine, therefore, he must be marked and avoided (Rom. 16:17; 1 Jn. 2:15-17). His works are works of darkness (even "damnable heresies" — 2 Pet. 2:1) which we should have no fellowship with, but rather reprove (Eph. 5:11).
Which doctrines and works are evil? Practically all of them. Just listen or read anything of his, and you should find it so thoroughly heretical, that even “the” and “and” will seem out of place. That is if you are truly converted and study and know the Bible because you love the Bible (2 Tim 2:15).
Though James Dobson has done some good in defending the family, marriage and society, Dodson and FOTF is a very great danger to true Biblical Christianity and churches. Doing some good is also no excuse for ignoring the serious error being promoted. His influence on the “evangelical” world and world in general, maybe the most popular man in twentieth-century American Christendom, is a major reason for the disastrous neo-evangelicalism that runs rank throughout majority churches. His opinions and advice about children, the family, marriage, and society are held in high esteem. In fact, they are hardly considered opinions. They are received as authoritative truth along the same lines as God’s Word, because of current faith in psychology, especially psychology practised by a professing Christian. He has a skilled way of flattery and manipulation, endearing himself to people, with strong emotional appeal especially to women. Psychoheretics like Dobson contend that the Bible does not speak to every situation and therefore needs certain supplementation or integration with so-called psychological truths. There is an assumption that psychological theories contain truths that the Bible somehow missed.
Dobson's faith in psychology can be seen throughout his books, quoting numerous psychologists as authorities and recommending their books (e.g., Sigmund Freud, B.F. Skinner, E.L. Thorndike, William Glasser, and Stanley Coopersmith — all of which are evil anti-God, anti-Bible, antiChrist humanists). He has no issue with recommending professional counselling for professing Christians, to be therapized by professional, licensed, psychologically-trained counsellors referred to by FOTF staff, which are anti-God, anti-Bible, anti-Christ humanists. This has led to multitudes of millions of people to be psychology-dependent and perceiving problems not from a biblical viewpoint but psychological, making many of these two-fold children of hell.
Dobson is also a pathological liar. Dobson embraces the psychological and blasphemous concept that we should "forgive God” which he teaches in his book, When God Doesn't Make Sense. Everything he writes about Lee Harvey Oswald, President J.F. Kennedy's alleged assassin, in his Hide or Seek: How to Build Self-Esteem in Your Child, is a lie. It is pure fabrication made out of sheer cloth. He paints Oswald as a victim of circumstance and society, diagnosing him with low self-esteem, self-worth, and self-confidence, and feelings of inferiority and inadequacy, which is a load of unBiblical hog wash and baloney. In fact, no assessment he makes of behaviour and beliefs comes from a biblical viewpoint, noted also in his nauseating, psychological, heretical interview with Ted Bundy, in the 24hrs prior to his death penalty. Dobson's description of Oswald's life reveals a psychological viewpoint influenced by underlying ideologies of the Freudian unconscious, Adlerian inferiority, and the humanistic belief in the intrinsic goodness of man and the universal victimization of the individual by parents and society. Again, completely unBiblical, and more-so, anti-Bible. Dobson contends that both Oswald and the other Kennedy assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, followed these steps to destruction: “(1) they experienced deep-seated feelings of inferiority; (2) they sought to cope by withdrawal and surrender; (3) their vain attempts to achieve adequacy were miserable failures; and (4) they exploded in violence.” Nothing about this man’s sinful nature, evil rebellion against God and His gospel, rejection of love for God but rather living in evil ways and for himself, is even mentioned. If the story is told in the context of Scripture, both the analysis and the answers will come from an understanding of the law of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In short, the sin nature and its results are seen as the problem, and man’s refusal to repent and rejection of Christ’s Lordship. But Dobson is so far removed from the truth of Scripture, this plain fact known by any true Christian is not even entertained.
This is but one example among many, that makes it very evident that Dr. James Dobson is simply a psychoheretic and far removed from anything that even closely resembles Biblical Christianity. Nothing that this heretic does comes out of a Biblical, true Christian perspective. Its a potluck of pragmatism, psychology, and humanism, that drives his advice and beliefs. Instead of getting his advice from the Bible, he even looks at animal psychology, and then presents his theories as fact. To read more about this heretic, see Prophets of PsychoHeresy II : Critiquing Dr. James C. Dobson.
This is the man behind Adventures in Odyssey. A ravening wolf in sheep’s clothing. And his psychological and neo-evangelical heresies are somehow not present in the Odyssey programs? Please. Where's the discernment? Dobson is a deceiver who claims to be a Christian whose mouth must be stopped, who is subverting whole houses teaching things which he ought not. He professes to know God, but in works, he denies Him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate (Ti. 1:10-16). He is preaching another gospel other than the pure gospel presented in Scripture; therefore, let him be accursed (Gal. 1:8-9). Although Dobson professes to be a Christian, he continually denies Jesus Christ by adding to God’s Word the philosophy and false teachings of the world, and then omits plentiful and changes truck loads. He is a type of Antichrist (2 Jn. 1:7) who transgresses and abides not in the doctrine of Christ, therefore he hath not God (2 Jn. 1:9), and those who bid him Godspeed, support him, or sponsor him or embrace his teachings, are partakers of his evil deeds (2 Jn. 1:11).
Psychoheretics, like Dobson, totally undermine the authority of God’s Word, while pretending to be Christian. They are simply popular heretics and wolves and all who read and endorse them or listen to their material are seriously deceived.
2. Adventures in Odyssey is fantasy, non-reality, based. This is a very dangerous foundation upon which to “minister” to young people. Bible-believing Christianity is REAL, not fantasy as presented by Adventures in Odyssey. Nowhere in the Bible do you find Bible truth presented in some sort of fantasy form. This false method of “evangelism” or “teaching” leads young people into a fantasy world, not into the reality of true Biblical Christianity. It is unsurprising then that the the false gospel of easy believism is so prevalent in neo-evangelicalism land. To add to this error, they use individuals that are typically known for evil, such as pirates, as heroes. This is calling “evil good and good evil” (Is 5:20). This type of “ministry” is a serious bane on Biblical Christianity.
3. Adventures in Odyssey is worldly to the core. The characters speak, behave and dress worldly, and are non-distinctive to unsaved, non-professing heathens. The girls are dressed immodestly and gender indistinctively (i.e. like boys, transgenderly).
The music is worldly and unBiblical and dishonouring to God. You can also read here about The Incongruity of Contemporary Worship Music (CCM) and Country Music (High Valley) with God's Word. Even though Christian Contemporary Music (CCM) is the Soundtrack of End-Times Apostasy, it is found on every one of their programs.
People that love the world are unsaved (1 Jn 2:15-17). They are enemies of God (Jam 4:4). They have never exchanged masters, which is required for conversion (Matt 6:24).
4. Adventures in Odyssey embraces and promotes the unBiblical and heretical teaching of contemplative mysticism, New Age Eastern beliefs. The dramatized CD’s teach a a very unscriptural, heretical and dangerous spiritual view, which includes contemplative spirituality. This is one of the worse heresies they’ve been promoting in recent years, that of contemplative spirituality and prayer. Its list of “reviewed” and approved authors include some of the most prominent contemplative prayer gurus around, including the ungodly heretics Richard Foster, Gary Thomas, Dallas Willard, Eugene Peterson, Ken Blanchard, Brennan Manning, Leonard Sweet, Larry Crabb and Ruth Haley Barton. Yikes. These men are extremely heretical to varying degrees, even apostates, certainly NOT someone any true born again believer would heed for advice.
Focus on the Family’s Father Gilbert Mysteries promotes joining a monastery and studying “the classic spiritual disciplines of prayer and meditation” (Introduction to the second CD), which is contemplative mysticism. In episode #366 (“Solitary Refinement” which can be listened to here, for research purposes only of course), Eugene goes to a monastery to experience “silence.” “Much like the Fox Home Video production, Be Still, ‘Solitary Refinement’ is an infomercial for Contemplative Spirituality. Talking about going to monasteries to learn the disciplines of silence and solitude, getting rid of distractions and thoughts in order to hear God, the program makes references throughout that encourage children to practice the “spiritual disciplines,” with a particular emphasis on the disciplines of silence and solitude. Anyone who has been researching and studying the contemplative prayer movement will understand the message in this presentation” (“Focus on the Family’s Adventures in Odyssey has Eugene Going to a Monastery,” Lighthouse Trails Research Project, Nov. 23, 2011). The original air date of this Adventures in Odyssey episode was 1996. This means long before contemplative spirituality (i.e. Spiritual Formation) had become mainstream in Christendom, as it has today, FOTF was already heading in this direction. Now over a decade later, they are reintroducing the episode to a new generation of children. Undoubtedly, this demonic teaching is found throughout their episodes today, cloaked in non-threatening verbiage, undiscerning to the simple and the ignorant.
5. Adventures in Odyssey is heretical for many more reasons than just contemplative mysticism — this is just one of very many critical errors in their programs. Others include multitudes of false doctrines, typical heresies that encompass neo-evangelicalism, a consistent false gospel, embracing and promoting worldliness (ungodliness), misinterpreting and misusing Scripture, etc. It attacks the necessity of teaching children to respect authority and to be of a humble non-emotional spirit. Kids learn to disrespect others, carnal arguing, name calling, lack of kindness towards others, demeaning and rude tones and the consistent use of "stupid" and “dumb,” and other ungodly lusts, etc. As mentioned, worldliness and ungodliness, neither of which are consistent with Biblical Christianity.
The stories also contain ungodly toleration of sin such as divorce and remarriage, worldly unregenerate people pretending to be “Christian” but treated as true Christian's, etc.
6. Adventures in Odyssey “Bibles” produced are perverted and ungodly. For example the NIrV: “This brown Italian Leatherette edition features a full color children's Bible combining the bestselling, kid-friendly New International Reader’s Version text of both the Old and New Testaments with more than a thousand features meant to excite and encourage you to read and apply the Scriptures.” (Source). Wow. As if the perversion of the text isn’t heretical and evil enough, never mind the additional thousand plus “features meant to excite and encourage you to read and apply the Scriptures” -- as if God’s Word on its own is not good enough. It isn’t good enough for these ungodly and “evil beasts” (Ti 1:12), who are the “mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.” (Ju. 1:18-19).
Concluding, Adventures in Odyssey is a very great danger spiritually to any child that listens to it, and such unwholesome dangerous teachings should be broken with a hammer and burned, like any other unBiblical worldly garbage (Acts 19:18-20).
Though it may come under the guise of Biblical Christianity, its not.
Bible-believing Christians are commanded to avoid spiritual danger, to avoid even the appearance of evil (1 Th 5:21), hence the command in the context, to “prove all things” (1 Th 5:20)
What Eph 5:6-11 presents should cause people to separate and reject heretical entertainment such as Adventures in Odyssey.
"Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." (Eph 5:6-11)
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