Has William Beher become the "mouthpiece" for Dale Schurter? Schurter has been conspicuously absent since this blog revealed that he held many beliefs diametrically opposed to God's most important inspired man, Dave Pack. How dare he have an original thought in his head before Dave had one!
Now William speaks out on behalf of the absent one:
Some have written Mr. Schurter quite upset, as they feel as though he believes they do not have God’s Spirit. That impression is simply not true. God’s people do reside in various splinter groups. But, and this is important, they are branches cut off from the vine! It does not mean they do not have God’s Spirit, but rather they are no longer connected to the Body of Christ, and those who do not reconnect at some point are in danger of having the Spirit dwindle down and eventually be entirely gone.
The question that needs to be asked here is, "If you have God's spirit but are cut off, what is the point in having it?" What good is it going to do you to be cut off from the tree or the vine? Branches cut off die, especially vine branches. They die within minutes. What William is really telling these people that they are dead and have no hope unless they come over to Pack's cult. I guess William cannot think from both sides of his brain at the same time.
William goes on to quote HWA trying to placate those that got offended by Schurter's baloney:
Next, Mr. Armstrong talks about how a person with God’s Spirit can temporarily exist outside the Body of Christ. This includes a few who are converted—given God’s Spirit at a baptism—outside the true Church. But notice what must eventually happen.
“Can one who does not know of the true organized Body doing God’s Work, and therefore is outside of it, be a member of the true Church which Christ built? The answer is yes—for it is possible for one to have truly repented, believed, and received God’s Spirit—and be following that Spirit as far as he sees and understands—who does not know of the organized Work Christ is using today. But surely God’s Spirit in him would lead one, in due time, into his part in the organized Body the living Christ is directing.”
Once again William is blatantly telling anyone who thinks they have God's spirit that they are damned if they do not join up with Pack. According to him there is no truth outside Packism.
Obviously then, it is very much possible to have God’s Spirit and be outside the Body of Christ. But that does not mean that wherever such people are found is also where the Body of Christ—the one true Church—is located. God’s people can be scattered in different groups, but they are outside the Body of Christ, and need to reconnect to the Vine at some point.
In other words, get off your lazy asses and join the one and only true church. Get your eyes anointed today and see the light! Don't think for yourself anymore, let the Packman do it for you.
"Some have written Mr. Schurter quite upset, as they feel as though he believes they do not have God’s Spirit. That impression is simply not true. God’s people do reside in various splinter groups. But, and this is important, they are branches cut off from the vine! It does not mean they do not have God’s Spirit, but rather they are no longer connected to the Body of Christ, and those who do not reconnect at some point are in danger of having the Spirit dwindle down and eventually be entirely gone. "
ReplyDeleteWhat an arrogant, self serving, theologically inaccurate insult this is.
Translation: "No, no...you do have the Holy Spirit..for now. But you are like a car on it's last tank of gas and cut off from a service station. Unless you get to the RCG Filling Station before you run out...well....you'll die in the wilderness wishing you had stopped sooner."
M.T.Tanks
Forget Behar's nonsense, HWA's words were self-indicting, even then.
ReplyDelete"Yes, you can be a Christian outside of my church. But no, you can't be a Christian outside of my church."
Ignorant double-speak, designed to instill doubt and guilt inside of people. Where there was no basis for his ramblings, HWA would just make stuff up.
No wonder these guys are all in the same ditch.
It just occurred to me. Ministers are actually selling an invisible commodity. And because it's invisible, everyone claims that they have a monopoly.
ReplyDeleteThey all say the same thing, over and over and over:
"Jesus Christ is The Way, The Truth, and The Life. No man can come to the Father except through Him. And I am The Way to Jesus Christ. No man can come to Jesus except through me."
In other words, I may not be the only bar in the world, but I'm the only one with Draft Jesus on tap. The only way to get it is to start a bar tab. It costs 1/7 of your time, 1/10 of your income, and all your autonomy and self-respect. Yes, it's expensive, but it's worth it.
The only difference between a minister and a snake oil salesman, is the snake oil salesman has to put something tangible in your hand.
But no tall frosty mugs of Draft Jesus ever show up at your table.
ReplyDeleteThe bartender just comes over and asks you if you're feeling refreshed by your Draft Jesus.
Everyone else nods yes, and you assume there's something they know that you don't, so you nod too.
That's called "Christianity."