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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"
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Education for the Ministry
"All educating of men as preachers is an abomination. And we will be an abomination if we follow the example of the Churches and the Plymouth Brethren either in the matter of money or property. " - William Irvine. Parker, The Secret Sect, p. 7.
One of the "abominable marks" of a "church of Satan." The workers escape self incrimination by teaching the young workers silently, by example, coercion and manipulation; or so they think!
The education of Paul the Apostle is thus ignored - as is the education of every Jew in regard to his religion in particular. Jesus spent a great deal of time training His disciples; this too is ignored.
Education
"Parents, don't sacrifice your children on the altar of education." Senior Worker, 1979.
Commonly called "headucation." General education is not seen as important at all. The school report cards of many of the young have borne the teachers' comments, "I know he (she) can do much better if he (she) tried."
There are many things within the theology of the workers that contribute to the apathetic view of education, one of which is the exaltation of the state of poverty, but the biggest reason seems to be that workers do not require any special education, and the hope is that the young will become workers. Lack of education, coupled with a lack of Biblical understanding makes these preachers incapable of offering either effective advice for, or an example of, living a godly life in modern society.
The workers fear education - both the religious and secular - because most lack this background, and therefore have no ability to stand up to it in their ignorance. They are kings and queens in their own little world, who are threatened by education. They have noticed that people who discover their secrets and leave them behind are educated people. One might excuse their biases, blaming them on ignorance, but they do know exactly what they are doing; and why they denounce education. I can state this with some assurance - witness the following:
"They felt that they could rule over people in ignorance better than if they were educated. They forbade education and this is what ushered the whole of western Europe into the dark ages. And it was an age of ignorance where the people weren't allowed to get an education. this went on hundreds of years until the Reformation." Senior Worker, transcript of speech.
This is a charge that Mr. Stancliff, a prominent worker, laid against the Popes of the Roman Catholic Church. His defense would probably be, that Two-by-Two's do not actually go so far as to forbid education. (But it is very strongly discouraged!)
Elder
This position is held by those lay persons who have the "privilege" of leading the Sunday morning "Meetings" (usually held in their own home). On rare occasions these persons have been called "Overseers," a title historically applied to the "Head Worker" of a region.
Elder Brother
The Two-by-Two usage of this term is usually based upon Romans 8:29 "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. " Logically, as drawn from the King James English translation of the Scripture, it is easy to see why the workers might put forward the claim that Jesus is our "elder brother." There are several very perplexing problems generated by such an assertion, however. If "firstborn" in the KJV translation can only mean the very first one born, then Jesus would have to be a creature just like us. This would strike out the Biblical claims of His preexistence, His virgin birth, His Messiahship, His atoning work on our behalf, and His resurrection. In short, if Jesus is just like you and me, then he could not have paid for our sins on the cross and all are left with no hope of salvation. If "firstborn" can only mean the very first one born, then the KJV Bible contradicts itself, and would, therefore, not be the word of God, since according to Hebrews 11:17 "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son. " Abraham offered up Isaac, not Ishmael his very first born son. It must, therefore, be that "firstborn" and "only begotten" have meanings not the same as they do in our English language. Let's have a look at what Vine's has to say regarding "firstborn: "
"FIRST-BEGOTTEN, FIRSTBORN
"PROTOTOKOS firstborn (from protos, first, and tikto, to beget), is used of Christ as born of the Virgin Mary, Luke 2:7; further, in His relationship to the Father, expressing His priority to, and pre-eminence over, creation, not in the sense of being the first to be born. It is used occasionally of superiority of position in the O.T.; see Exodus 4:22; Deuteronomy 21:16. 17, the prohibition being against the evil of assigning the privileged position of the firstborn to one born subsequently to the first child.
"The five passages in the N.T. relating to Christ may be set forth chronologically thus: (a) Colossians 1:15 where His eternal relationship with the Father is in view, and the clause means both that He was the Firstborn before all creation and that He Himself produced creation (the genitive case being objective, as verse 16 makes clear); (b) Colossians 1:18 and Rev. 1:5, in reference to His resurrection; (c) Rom. 8:29, His position in relationship to the Church; (d) Hebrews 1:6, R.V., His Second Advent (the R.V. 'when He again bringeth in.' puts 'again' in the right place, contrast to His First Advent, at His Birth, being implied); cp. Psalm 89:27. The word is used in the plural, in Hebrews 2:28, Of the firstborn sons in the families of the Egyptians, and in 12:23, Of the members of the Church.
Note: With (a) cp. John 1:30. 'He was before me,' lit., 'He was first (protos) of me,' i.e. 'in regard to me,' expressing all that is involved in His preexistence and priority." - Vine's Expository Dictionary, p. 104.
Thus, we see that the word "firstborn" also bore the meaning of "pre-eminence" or "position in relationship" in its Hebrew and Greek forms. On this basis, not only is the Two-by-Two title of "Elder Brother" fallacious and without foundation (even though we can understand how they erred), it is a seriously diminished view of the Majesty and identity of our Lord Jesus Christ; a view that could lead to a lost eternity on the basis of their use of an understanding which presents a different Jesus than THE Jesus of the Bible - the Son of the living God who, according to God's Word, is God incarnate.
Emblems
See "Bread and Wine."
Enter the Work
To go into "The Work;" To become a "worker;" a preacher of the Two-by-Two church; To go into "The Ministry." (See "Worker")
Evangelical
I recall hearing a "sister worker" state at a special meeting in the gymnasium of a school on Kingsway in Burnaby (Canada), that "We are evangelical preachers." In so doing she exposed her understanding of the word "evangelical" as meaning the same as "Evangelistic," in that her intended meaning was that they do "evangelize."
However, the word "proselytize" would be a far more accurate term for their outreach efforts.
According to the Canadian Intermediate Dictionary, Evangelical is defined thusly:
"1/ of, concerning, or according to the four Gospels or the New Testament. 2/ of or having to do with the Protestant churches that emphasize Christ's atonement and salvation by faith as the most important parts of Christianity. Methodists and Baptists are evangelical; Unitarians and Universalists are not. 3/ evangelistic. adj."
The second of these dictionary definitions would be ignored. To the Two-by-Two's, the most important thing in Christianity is the style of ministry.
Evangelist
According to the Two-by-Two's, one who wanders from place to place, preaching the "gospel" (the supposed ministerial pattern illustrated by the mission to Israel of Matthew 10:8-10); one who has no salary, and owns no material things, and who is sent out by God, not by some church. The workers would represent, in their minds, the only true evangelists. Neither "evangelical" or "evangelist" is necessarily related to preaching to unbelievers such as atheists or secular society, but to Christians of other denominations.
The correct term to describe the workers is “proselytizers " not "evangelists."
Evil
Evil is understood to be anything other than those things condoned by the workers. For example, my father is on tape, explaining unsuccessfully to a worker, that his tape recorder was not evil, but like a camera of sound, by which he was making a file of the voices of loved ones. The workers hate to be taped, and for that matter many of them hate to have their pictures taken as well. Sorry dad, you struck out again!
Example
Pattern. See also, "Follow."
Excommunicate
According to their rationalizing, this is something that no worker can be accused of, since they "put people out of the church;" they do not "excommunicate" people that is a Catholic tradition, and they wouldn't be found dead doing anything that the Catholics do!! (This is my facetiousness surfacing again, sorry.) They will quickly rebut me, that they do not put people out: that people leave because they are "unwilling, " or they have "a bad spirit, " or that "they put themselves out. " Therefore, I shall present the method by which people leave when they fall into disfavor:
If a member insists on doing things that are not condoned by the hierarchy, or if he doesn't attend meetings regularly, he will get a succession of "little visits" from workers. In these "little visits," the workers try to persuade him to comply ("submit" is the term which is usually used). Once the assessment is made that the "little visits" are proving ineffective in moving the member to compliance, the workers will warn the other members that "he has a bad spirit. " Whenever that member attends any meeting from that time forward, he will be shunned by the others. If he attends "fellowship Meetings" on Sunday mornings, he may be told directly by a worker that "You are not expected to take part. " If that member insists on attending those meetings, the workers may advise the Elder to deny him the "Emblems." The Elder will rise from his chair and take the bread and wine cup from the person sitting beside him, and pass it on to the next person past him. If that member persists in attending those meetings, workers have been known to attend the same meetings, and ridicule his "testimony" in front of him and everyone else in attendance. He may be told directly by the owner of the meeting home that he cannot come in. He may be asked to leave any convention that he attends by the workers, or the property owner. If he hasn't had the sense to leave the cult by such a time, he will be deemed to be a crazy man. The workers are technically correct: they do not "put people out;" they are more devious than to be so direct! They do however, oversee and direct the torture chamber that is designed to get rid of someone that they dislike, and thus preserve the illusion that they do not excommunicate.
