Q. We have heard some pretty terrible things about your Church from ex-members. How much truth is there in what they say??

Not very much. Were you to collect together what disaffected and ignorant people have been saying about us and analysed it you would find a mass of contradiction. Satan is the accuser of the brethren (Rev.12:10), always trying to undermine the work of God. Wherever you you find a people trying to do God's will, you will find those trying to defame it. We are not alone.

People are, of course, legitimately concerned about some of the groups that have come to be labelled as "cults". We are small and not (at present) generally well-known. We are also often misunderstood because people don't bother to research our beliefs more carefully, preferring to jump to conclusions based on misinformation or half-truths.

If you analyse the backgrounds, in particular, of ex-members, you will find that they usually fall into one or more of the following categories: (1) unrepentant adulterers, fornicators, or practicing homosexuals (who were excommunicated); (2) people with leanings towards the occult, Mormonism, or some other fringe group who were not willing to entirely abandon their former beliefs or practices when they came to the Church and who left it because we refused to accept their teachings; (3) liberal Christians or existentialists who do not accept the Bible as the complete Word of God or apostolic doctrines; and (4) those who were afraid of persecution and compromised with the world in one way or another.

As for those who are not ex-members, we cannot, of course, comment, since we in all likelihood do not know them. They have heard rumours and simply spread them. Rumours are as a bottomless pit and should be shunned. Rumour-mongering and gossipping have nothing to do with the Gospel of Christ. Some investigators, who never joined, were jealous of the gifts which God had so graciously endowed us with, coveted them, didn't get them, and became angry.

If you have questions you can ask us directly. If they are obscene we do, of course, reserve the right to ignore you, or even to rebuke you. If they involve the private lives of our members which they do not want to share we shall respect their right to privacy. Beyond that, you are free to ask what you will. You must understsand that we will defend ourselves out from the Bible, and from the Bible alone -- worldly norms and values that contradict it have no interest for us. What people (and particularly others claiming the Name of Christ) have to say about the Bible again has no interest for us -- we are only interested in what the Bible has to say.

Finally, if people come to us with railing accusation we will not usually answer them (1 Pet.3:9; Jude 1:9) because we regard such as being of the devil. But if people want to talk to us calmly, rationally, and as equals, we will happily discuss all things.

I hope this answers your question to your satisfaction.

This page was created on 8 April 1998 Last updated on 8 April 1998

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