Cults and the First Century Church Era

[skyrider]

After 10 years, the discussion doors to Greasespot Cafe are about to close. And, it seems fitting that posts/threads on defending Victor Paul Wierwille are coming to the forefront.

The truth of the scriptures is timeless:

1Cor 1:12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.

1Cor 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I [am] of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Of course, no one seems to come right out and say...."I am of Wierwille.....yet, why not take the high road and proclaim, "I am of Christ"...?? Why is it that many who've left twi live and confess that....while those in twi, or closely associated with twi-lite groups, continue to want to elevate wierwille?

Thanks to GS and these discussion forums, I no longer think or say "the First Century Church".....signifying it as ONE ENTITY, ONE LIKE-MINDED GROUP. Yep, another pfal falsehood bites the dust. Another pfal book, The New, Dynamic Church, is riddled with error and based on a false premise.

Think about it this way......"Christian" cults have been around for 2,000+ years. Why should we be surprised that twi and/or offshoots keep popping up? Even in the days of Gamaliel [Acts 5:34-39] boastful men like Theudas, Judas of Galilee, and others rose up to draw away men....of which, were later scattered and came to nought.

So it is today.

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[waysider]

In the history of modern religions, The Way was nothing more than a flash in the pan.

[skyrider]

In the history of modern religions, The Way was nothing more than a flash in the pan.

Looking back, I see wierwille's marketing of "the more abundant life." After all, who wouldn't want more abundance and eternal life? Have it all.....have it YOUR way. Framed for youth consumption and few boundaries, youth brought their friends to the party.

Wierwille always held "the word" at the center of his teaching ministry. Not healing, not community service, not family building, not practical living, not eternal life.....but the constant focus of "working the word." In this spotlight, wierwille was king of research, editor-in-chief, and fiction-writer all in one..

And who defines, clarifies, augments, and teaches "this word".......wierwille.

How convenient!

[geisha779]

After 10 years, the discussion doors to Greasespot Cafe are about to close. And, it seems fitting that posts/threads on defending Victor Paul Wierwille are coming to the forefront.

The truth of the scriptures is timeless:

1Cor 1:12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.

1Cor 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I [am] of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Of course, no one seems to come right out and say...."I am of Wierwille.....yet, why not take the high road and proclaim, "I am of Christ"...?? Why is it that many who've left twi live and confess that....while those in twi, or closely associated with twi-lite groups, continue to want to elevate wierwille?

Thanks to GS and these discussion forums, I no longer think or say "the First Century Church".....signifying it as ONE ENTITY, ONE LIKE-MINDED GROUP. Yep, another pfal falsehood bites the dust. Another pfal book, The New, Dynamic Church, is riddled with error and based on a false premise.

Think about it this way......"Christian" cults have been around for 2,000+ years. Why should we be surprised that twi and/or offshoots keep popping up? Even in the days of Gamaliel [Acts 5:34-39] boastful men like Theudas, Judas of Galilee, and others rose up to draw away men....of which, were later scattered and came to nought.

So it is today.

.

Scripture is incredibly harsh about these men (and women). . . . the language is angry and the promised judgment is severe. . . . . and much of it really does read like a biography for Wierwille.

Eyes full of adultery, seducers of the unstable, experts in greed, carousing in daylight, making merchandise of people, drunk, exploiting people with made up stories, covetous, teaching to tickle the ear, savaging the flock, indulging in the flesh, they despise authority, are arrogant, bold, they revile where they have no knowledge, and they deny the Lord Jesus Christ.

They draw people to themselves. They lure people with enticements like "abundance"....and many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.

They rise up in the church and come out of the church just like VP.......they can't stay there. They will be exposed. That is why they lure people away....not bring people into the church.

So yeah, they have to defend these guys.....they are not a part of anything else. It is a separate faith based on the lies or false(different) doctrines of these men. It has nothing to do with Christ.

That may seem harsh.....but scripture is pretty straight forward concerning what it was we all were involved in......it is not secret knowledge.

The temptation to jump from one false teacher to another comes with the continual embrace of false doctrine which really can take a stranglehold. I am of Lynn, Geer, Hendricks.....pick your poison.

The good news for those of us who want to continue in the Christian faith is that God is able to rescue us. To bring us back into the church.

My opinion anyway.....since we are closing.....I felt like sharing it!

[skyrider]

Of course, no one seems to come right out and say...."I am of Wierwille.....

Actually.......twi leaders did say this!

Two things come to mind:

1) There was this "father in the word" push in the mid-80s....claiming that wierwille, like the Apostle Paul in the first century, fathered a following of believers. See, as one continues "in the word"......that follower is of wierwille.

2) In Chris Geer's paper, The Passing of a Patriarch......the definition of "patriarch" -- the father and ruler of a family or tribe. When Geer delivered that long, reading at the 1986 Corps Week......was it a eulogy of wierwille's life? Was Geer eulogizing the life of wierwille to the Corps Body present, irrespective of the whole Body of Christ? Were we, indeed, of the "tribe of wierwille?"

Twi was a strange, meandering detour from the main highway of christianity. How different my life would be today if I hadn't turned down the intersection of wierwille road and hwy 29.

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