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"A Search for "The Truth"
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The Workers' Words Exposed by Lloyd Fortt.
Check Out This Link: Language of "The Truth - Workers and Friends
D
Dead Works
"Most good works are dead works because they are not rooted in faith of God. They expect something in return. " Notes dated July 12. 1966.
Good works such as financial aid to the poor, housing for the poor, clothing for the poor, food for the poor etc. that are practiced by any church other than "The Truth" (who practice none of these themselves) are condemned by workers as dead works. Such aid to their own poor is rare, and not encouraged by the workers in case one might get a lofty opinion of himself because of them. These things are viewed as "getting taken up with the cares of this life." Secular society's philanthropic outreach to the poor is normally disdained by members within "The Truth." They describe such by using the derogatory term "Do-gooders." Some of "The Friends" have resorted to aid from the Salvation Army, while their workers call the Salvation Army "The Damnation Army." (In the early days of the cult, they themselves were called the Damnation Army by outsiders in response to their condemnation to hell of everyone outside Of their group.) Welfare, as a government service, is viewed as a shame ridden right of the less fortunate, including the less fortunate among themselves. In general, the condemnation of good works comes out of a judgment levied by workers on the hearts of the givers, which sees all as doing good works in order to gain the admiration of men, while they view "scriptural" good works as the ridding of ones own sin - cleansing one's own self from sin, as they perceive it. In this process, Jesus has in reality nothing to do with the cleansing of their souls, that is, beyond showing them that they can do it by copying Him. God supposedly gives them the power (grace) to overcome sin themselves; Jesus merely shows them how to do it (by self denial). Even where success may appear in this effort, it is deemed worthless unless that person is within their exclusive group. E.g., I do not own a television. But since this is not a result of adhering to the workers' concept that it is sin, and because I am not a member of their "church," my choice not to own a television is deemed a "dead work." (I personally place absolutely no "work" related value upon it whatsoever, nor do I view owning a television as sin.)
Death
The time when life ceases. This is not usually thought of as separation, which has led some to believe in annihilation. "Soul sleep" is also believed by some. People who talk about this subject are hushed by the workers. They don't like the subject except as in "death to self." Funerals are used by the workers as "Gospel Meetings" and there is some compulsion for members to attend them; even if they do not know the deceased or the family very well. My dad's funeral was attended by many Two-by-Twos, even though they had excommunicated him ten years prior, and ignored his existence until about a month before he died. This particular funeral could not be used by the workers as a "Gospel Meeting," since it was officiated by a United Clerical member; the workers had no part in it.
Deception
In the opinion of the Two-by-Twos generally, and the workers specifically, anything which leads a professing person to leave the cult, or to question, or otherwise disagree with the commonly held beliefs of the Two-by-Twos. This would include this book, questioning or dissension resulting from discovery of the lies the workers have used to cloak the true history of the group, or the surfacing of information on sexual misconduct and scandals regarding workers. The greatest deception is held to be the belief in the eternal security of salvation through singular trust in the completed work of Jesus Christ. (Below is a quote which illustrates deception, as practiced by the workers themselves!)
"My hope of salvation is the blood of Christ. But I would like to explain to you what it means. The blood of Christ is the ministry and the church in the home. Without the New Testament ministry you don't have the blood of Christ which includes the church in the home. The forgiveness of sins is a fringe benefit. " Senior Worker, 1981.
Dedication
Diligence, faithfulness in action, unquestioning acceptance of the teachings of the workers, meeting attendance, fanatical attachment to "The Truth," and loyalty. As used by the Two-by-Twos, this word seldom carries conotations [connotations] either of being set aside for a particular purpose or to be consecrated. This meaning of "consecration" is somewhat ridiculed by the Two-by-Twos because it is so used by the Catholic Church. "Consecration," where used by the Two-by-Twos, mainly refers to the setting apart of the people who become workers, and "dedicate" their entire lives to ministry according to their "pattern." The word is used with a contemporary meaning, seemingly only because it sounds biblical.
In contrast, Vine's Expository Dictionary does not mention any such meaning for the Greek equivalent words: "(A) 'ENKAINZO' (verb); to make new; or (B) 'ENKAINIA' (noun) akin to (A) as related to the Feast of Dedication, and Feast of Lights in the Old Testament. "
Diety [Deity]
(See Divine)
Deliverance
"What is salvation? To begin with, it is God's deliverance in our lives. It is God giving us victory in our own hearts over ourselves. Again salvation is the continuation of the destruction of sin in yourself. Maybe when a person first heard the gospel he made a great attempt to destroy sin within himself. He may not be doing just as much at it now. If we destroy sin in ourselves, nothing around us can destroy us. Nothing can master a person, who, by the grace of God is mastering himself. This is salvation - being able to master ourselves. That means being the master of yourself in all things. Do not be discouraged by the fact that not many people are willing to go in for this salvation. " Worker, Boston. Massachusetts, 1957.
Deliverance is seen as a "power from God" (grace) which "enables" workers to live a "pure life." It is believed that God takes away the natural desires of men and women when He wishes them to "go into the Work" (paradoxically, becoming a Two-by-Two preacher is held to be accomplished through the worker's own sacrificial efforts). To admit that this is not the case strikes a blow to their idea of "divine anointing" and heaps guilt on those who fail to be pure. The only alternative is to blame God for having not removed the natural desires as He is supposed to do - "poor weak old God." Neither of these are acceptable, so the human failure to be pure (even by their own definition of "pure") is hidden with lies and denied to exist. "Pure" life is therefore self-defined and self-declared by the Two-by-Twos - in spite of the existence of that which the Bible defines as sin, of which all are guilty, but put out of mind.
What a mess we can make by not simply accepting the purity imputed to believing men by Jesus Christ; His own purity that He clothes believers in freely even as they sin unwittingly in their weakness! (See Romans 5:8)
Diligence
Faithfulness in action. E.g.: Steadfastness in attending every meeting, hard working.
This word's equivalent Greek meanings encompass a broad range. I make mention of the similarity of the Two-by-Two understanding noted above, to only a partial understanding compared to that presented in Vine's Expository .Dictionary. Below is a partial quote of the entry, but I encourage the reader to refer to that dictionary for the rest of its page and a half of definition.
"Spoudazo; has meanings corresponding to A, No. 2; it signifies to hasten to do a thing, to exert oneself. endeavour, give diligence; in Galatians 2:10, of remembering the poor, A.V., 'was forward,' R.V., 'was zealous;' in Ephesians 4:3, of keeping the unity of the Spirit, A.V. 'endeavouring,' R.V., 'giving diligence;' in 1 Thessalonians 2:17, of going to see friends, 'endeavoured;' in 2 Timothy 4:9; 4:21, 'do thy diligence;' in the following the R.V. uses the verb to give diligence: 2 Timothy 2:15 A.V., 'study;' Titus 3:12, A.V. be diligent; Hebrews 4:11, of keeping continuous Sabbath rest, A.V., 'let us labour;' in 2 Peter 1:10, of making our calling and election sure; in 2 Peter 1:15, of enabling believers to call Scripture truth to remembrance, A.V., 'endeavour;' in 2 Peter 3:14, of being found in peace without fault and blameless, when the Lord comes, A.V., 'be diligent.'"
Dippers (The)
A name given the early cult referring to the type of baptism that they practiced (i.e., full immersion).
Discernment
The ability to thoughtlessly accept those things taught by workers, and reject everything else that disagrees with them - including, when necessary, the "spiritual" reinterpretation of Scriptures which conflict with their tenets.
Disciple
A follower, in the sense described under "Follow."
Discipline
To force compliance with the accepted views of the workers. (See Chapter Two, pg. 10.)
Dispensation
A way of Bible interpretation that is generally not accepted by the workers. It is seen as a contaminant of the "churches of Satan," a false doctrine. At the same time some readily mention the "age of grace." Thus, absolute unanimity of opinion does not exist on this subject.
Divided Home
A term used (in tones of great pity) to describe any marriage in which one spouse does not "profess." If the unprofessing spouse holds strong beliefs at odds with Two-by-Two doctrine, attends a church elsewhere, or is otherwise deemed "an enemy of the Truth," the professing spouse may even be encouraged to divorce. In most areas, this is the only reason permitting a member to divorce while maintaining respectability within the group. A code is placed next to the names of such couples in the workers' address lists so that workers will be aware of the situation. Children of a "divided home" are usually ignored by professing families, often without ever knowing why.
Divine
"God has made provision, that in our own generation, by abiding in Him, we can receive divine life. Morning by morning I can take my life and place it in the midst of the heart of God to draw from the wells of salvation, to receive of His divine spirit, to receive the quickening of divine life, that power that raised Jesus from the dead. We can receive grace that will help us walk in His way. and have a wisdom that is divine. It means nothing less than complete renunciation of all that we are. " (27b) (27b) Senior Worker, Salmon Arm, British Columbia, 1963.
"We do not deny the deity of Christ. We may differ slightly on His humanity but I'm not sure what "true humanity" and "true Deity" entail. We believe in the virgin birth by which two natures came to be in Christ Jesus. " Worker, 1983.
Of God or God-like. Mystical; never-never-land-ish; incomprehensible. This term is used, like "deity," mainly to sidestep an inquiry with regard to whether the workers believe that Jesus Christ is God in human flesh, without exposing that they do not believe that Jesus was or is God. Otherwise, it is used to deceive the members into thinking that the workers interpretations are quite biblical, because it sounds biblical. It is a deceptive maneuvering term used to get the questioned worker off the hook. While I stood at the gate of the convention at Glen Valley B.C. in 1989, asking a worker this very question, he said of John 1:1, "What that really says is that the Word is deity. " He went on to say later, "I was raised an Anglican, and I’ve dealt with this deity of Christ issue. " (suggesting that the Deity of Christ is erroneous by speaking in a derogatory tone, indicating that he had personally rejected the idea that Jesus is God, but did not wish to clearly say so.) Other similar side stepping phrases are: "Jesus is like God, " "Jesus is with God" (commonly heard to mean that He is "on God's side" by members), or "the Father and Son are one in spirit" (keep in mind their definition of "spirit"). These vague statements are meant to be interpretable in several ways, to soothe and disarm the cautious inquirer. In sharp contrast,
Vine's Expository Dictionary defines the word "Divine" thusly:
"THEIOS divine (from theos, God), is used of the power of God, 2 Peter 1:3,
and of His nature, ver. 4, in each place, as that which proceeds from Himself. In
Acts 17:29 it is used as a noun with the definite article. to denote 'the Godhead,' the Deity (i.e., the one true God). This word, instead of theos, was purposely used by the Apostle in speaking to Greeks on Mars Hill, as in accordance with Greek usage."
Divorce and Remarriage
There is currently a huge controversy regarding divorce that is sweeping the cult. Until recently, divorce has been viewed as a sin that will damn a soul to hell, unless the divorced remained the rest of their lives as single people. If one remarried to other than the first spouse, then he or she was considered to have lost salvation, unless the new spouse was abandoned. The only case accepted as good for remarriage was in the case where a spouse had died leaving a widow, or widower. Even then, one was required to select a new spouse from within the cult; a rare occurrence as I recall since in even such a case the widow or widower is encouraged to remain single. It will be interesting to see how any changes from the former position are explained, since the workers have always presented their church as never changing throughout all eternity. Their sole argument for this supposed eternal consistency lies in (based upon the abuse of the verses being cited) exclaiming: "Jesus, the same yesterday, today, and forever. "
Doctrine
"We have no set doctrine." Senior Worker.
"Frankly, I don't know what the doctrine is." (30b) (30b) Worker, Kelso, Washington, 1978.
There is no "doctrine" as is known within the orthodox church. Because of the importance of this issue, I have included a chapter later in the book which is dedicated to an analysis of what might be called doctrine. However, I should here note one important point: while the workers avoid this issue by sometimes claiming that their doctrine is none other than the entire Bible, they teach doctrines found nowhere in Scripture, and deny doctrines that Jesus said are essential to salvation; i.e.,
Exodus 3:14 "And God said unto Moses, I AM That I AM. and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."
John 8:23-24 "And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins. for if ye believe not that I am [the eternal God], ye shall die in your sins."
Is doctrine then a very important concern? According to Scripture, Jesus thought it to be essential to salvation, the Apostles considered it so as well. But the workers seem to think that it is a peripheral issue to be made light of, especially the doctrines that are held or taught outside the Two-by-Two cult. They don't take the time to compare the doctrines that they don't understand and/or don't like, with the Scriptures. They condemn all such out of personal bias against those who teach them. They set themselves up as the cosmic judges of right and wrong, instead of letting the Scripture rule supreme!
1 Timothy 1:3 "As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine."
2 Timothy 4:3 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; "
Matthew 15:7-4 "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. "
Do the Workers teach sound doctrine?
How can they, when they either claim to have NO doctrine, or don't even know what it is?
The workers teach a "gospel" of patterns and examples, full of commandments that are foreign to Scripture in the place of biblical doctrine.
I ask you, will you entrust your eternity to the "care" of such men and women? These are those who claim to be sent by God, and to speak the very words of God.
