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A Search for "The Truth"
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The Workers' Words Exposed by Lloyd Fortt.
Check Out Even "MORE" Terminology at this LINK:
"Language of Truth" - The Way of the Workers and Friends
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Radiation Evangelism
This term is not a Cooneyite or Two-by-Two term at all, rather it is my own term to describe the type of evangelism that is open to the non-preaching members of this cult. They are to attend every meeting possible in order that this (constantly dwindling) supply of "rays" will be freshened and renewed.
- "Ornamental rings are superfluous and are among the ornaments that should be put off. There is a reason for this. The end toward which the Lord has always labored is to make His people different. We are intended to be different in spirit, different in appearance, different in our manner of life. This is what makes us a light in the world around us. If we were like the world, which is living in darkness, there would be no light. Our only hope of being a light is by being different." Senior Worker.
- "Twice this afternoon in prayer - ah - we heard that it would be wonderful if when we leave this convention, that people could see that we have been with Jesus. That's a wonderful thing. That there's something that is radiating from our lives. It’s just like a - an influence that radiates from our lives that people see we've been with Jesus." Senior Worker, Glen Valley, B.C., 1990. See Chapter Ten for text.
Rebuke
This is the responsibility of the workers.
It is often done in such a way that the person being rebuked feels guilty, surprised, and ashamed - but not really sure why or what they have done to deserve the chastisement, and are usually too amazed to ask. The rebuke may take the form of sarcasm, indirect criticism, ridicule, or an "exemplary hint" which offers the opportunity to conform (such as "I always feel better when I ---, don't you?" or "I think that ---, don't you?") See also, Discipline.
ReCreation
See "Creation. "
Receive Christ
One cannot receive Christ according to the teachings of the cult, unless he is willing to receive the messenger, the message, the form of this church, and its laws. This can only be done when a worker gives the "invitation" at a "gospel meeting." (See "Profess.")
"To be born again means to receive Christ which means receiving the messenger, the message, and receiving the Spirit of God equals obedience to the will of God." Worker. August 2, 1966.
Reconciliation
Adam's sin of disobedience is not understood generally as tainting successive mankind, and a child is considered to be born innocent (that is where this is thought of at all). Because of this view, along with a very wrong view of what sin is, the need of reconciliation of all men is not well understood. There are a few different ideas of what reconciliation means for the one who accepts Christ, and little understanding as to exactly why Jesus had to die on the cross, reflected generally in an attitude of anger and blame against the Jews. Jesus death on the cross is not seen as fulfillment of prophesy so much as a tragic mistake.
This is the reason that His suffering on the cross is viewed with a kind of grief, rather than overwhelming thankfulness. The very idea that God would hold all men in sin on account of the sin of Adam, is almost seen as blasphemy, being conceived as unjust; after all, it was Adam who sinned, not the successive individuals after him. Sin nature is talked about as if it were the flesh of man that is sin, and the "human" in human nature which is sin; for the material world is viewed as corrupt, and therefore one must deny the body, beauty, and natural desires - good or evil. The spirit is seen as the only pure part of man and the only thing in which God is interested. Views on these things are very seldom heard directly from any worker or cult member; one knows he is sinful because he is repeatedly told that he is sinful, and since it is the correct view of man, one must express it even if he does not feel so sinful; it is the accepted view, and indicative of the "right spirit" or right attitude when it is expressed willingly.
The lack of teaching on the Biblical view of man's condition of sin by inheritance, and the sin described by God has led to a distorted idea of just why one needs to become reconciled to God, and the teachings that are given about sin lead most to view sin as disobedience to the unwritten rules of the cult.
"Reconciliation," then, has been redefined as a process almost, if not synonymous with, "regeneration:" it begins when one "professes," and ends at death.
Regeneration
New birth.
This is believed to take place progressively from the starting point of the time when one accepts "The Truth" as the one true church, and acceptance of the workers as "God's true servants." This term is more commonly used to describe new birth into the "family of God" than is the term "born again." It is seen as being completed (maybe) at the time of death; if the person has been "faithful" to the end.
(Failure to be "faithful" at any time in between, could reverse or destroy the product of this supposed process.)
Religion
Very often the statement is made by both workers and members:
"We do not have a religion. Ours is a relationship."
This is one of the very few statements made that appears to have been adopted from Evangelical Christendom, since it sounds so good. However, the relationship referred to is in fact with each other within "The Fellowship."
Remnant
All of the things said in Scripture that pertain to the "chosen people" of God are claimed by the Two-By-Twos.
They believe that the Jews lost all of the promises of God, their nationality, lands, and inheritance, and that God has bestowed all these things upon the workers and their church. The workers then claim that they and their followers are "the Remnant" spoken of in Scripture. (They are supercessionist. And if they claim to be "spiritual Jews," then how do they explain that the Biblical remnant consists of twelve actual Israelite tribes as is clearly stated by Revelation 7:4-8?)
Repentance
To be sorry for wrongs done. Asking God for forgiveness of sin, and confession of sin are done in very vague and general terms, without the mention of specific sins.
- Sin is seldom talked about in any specific way, so that many have but a vague idea of exactly what sin is, which makes it rather difficult for a person to turn from it.
- Sin most often is seen as disobedience to the laws of "The Way."
- Repentance in terms of turning away from something to something else, is almost exclusively related to becoming a member of "The Truth;" in precise words, one repents when he or she "turns from the old ways of the world to walk in The Way."
The "old ways of the world" include any doctrine learned within a denominational Christian church in particular, and in a general sense, all of a persons former religious learning (these are viewed as "former sins"). Repentance is shown by complete obedience to the laws of "The Truth," or at least a close enough obedience so as to convince the majority of "the Friends," and especially the workers. By this idea, one cannot be sure of his or her own completeness of repentance, for every one knows individually that he or she fails to live in obedience to every law of "The Faith," let alone every law of Scripture.
One will notice that these people are constantly apologizing for their "unworthiness,"
their life, their words, their deeds, or the lack thereof.
This is evidence of insecurity in all aspects of their faith,
including their repentance.
"Remorse," "shame," "self-hate" are a few terms with similar meanings to the Two-By-Two.
"Until people are willing to lay aside all former teaching, become as a little child, they never will understand The Truth as taught by Jesus in word and deed." Senior Worker, January 17, 1971.
I have capitalized the words "The Truth" in order to make his emphasis clear.
Rest
There are two main usages for the word "rest," as employed by the worker or Two-by-Two member. First there is the subject of "His rest" as it refers to the rest of God spoken of in Scripture. Secondly, there is the "rest" that refers to that period of recovery time of workers who have suffered anything that disables one to continue to actively preach the Two-By-Two "gospel."
His rest: Hebrews 4:10 "For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. "
Some workers, in reference to this verse or topic, have interpreted this as saying that one is to cease from his own works and take on the labors of the Two-by-Two church.
These labors include such things as self-denial, meeting attendance, submission to the workers, cleaning of one's lifestyle according to the accepted Two-by-Two concept of "clean." For example, if one owns a television set, then he has not entered into "His rest." The "rest" supposed to be obtained inside of the Two-By-Two church is very much imaginary - a claim made in direct conflict with facts which are readily apparent on the faces of most of the members. The "rest" of the Two-by-Two is nervous tension, denial of any form of mortal pleasure, isolation from society, and even isolation from each other in many cases. A member is to "rest" only in the sense that membership in the workers' church will eventually lead to heaven if he/she is faithful enough by life's end. Perhaps this explains why under such supposed "rest" both workers and followers have "nervous" disorders.
Rest
(period of recovery):
A worker who has ceased to be able to function as a preacher because of a physical or emotional disorder is said to be "on rest." This suggests or implies that after sufficient time of rest, the worker would return to preaching. But in the cases of which I have known, most never returned to active ministry after resting. Some take jobs in member owned businesses, marry and become non-preaching members of the church. Others are not heard of again within the church, but leave it or are "put out" of it altogether.
Conclusion:
It would appear that the word "rest" has the opposite meaning to that normally associated with the word. In both types, the results of "rest" show the word to be grossly misinterpreted, or else totally meaningless and misleading.
Resurrection
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is believed to be in a spirit form. The workers will accuse me of gross error here in defining their meaning, but I think that they will have to agree after I explain what I mean. The problem in the definition lies in the word "Glorified" as applied to the resurrected body of Jesus. This is seen as a change that stripped the body of Jesus of its humanity. For example, He appeared and disappeared at will after His resurrection, somewhat similar to the common concept of the ability of a ghost to penetrate a solid wall as if it were not there. I was talking to a worker at the gate of the Glen Valley convention in August of 1989 about his belief related to the state of Jesus body at this time. I asked him if Jesus rose from the tomb in bodily form, to which he replied: "In a glorified body." With that, I asked him if he believed that Jesus has His body in heaven, and he did not answer me. When I stated that nowhere in the account of Jesus ascension, does Scripture indicate that He shed His body, and therefore I believe Jesus has His body with him in heaven. The worker said a sympathetic, "I see." and abandoned the topic. They do hate it when someone who knows what they believe corners them on it, and I know that they do not believe that the body in which Jesus lived here on earth is now with Him in heaven; after all, what will he breathe up there?
The workers never approach this topic with their followers, and they are well aware of the serious problem that they are in if they let it out that they believe in a "spirit body" resurrection.
Revelation
New revelation through the ministry is most firmly believed within the cult. This is why few members rely on Scripture alone for truth. The workers supposedly are the only people on earth through whom God speaks to mankind today. They do speak occasionally of the individual revelation of the Christ to the human heart, but you will recognize the same connotations in this as one finds in the New Age terminology. Jesus Christ only "manifested" the Christ, He was not in total being, body and all, Christ.
It is also held that through the reading of Scripture, no man will receive revelation from God unless he is obedient to the call to the ministry that they believe to be the pattern set by Jesus; i.e., the single homeless itinerant preachers.
- "The convention's opened to us a view that we've never had before and God has shown us the things that pertain to his kingdom, because the windows of heaven have been opened to us and we have been able to see Jesus again in all his beauty." Senior Worker, Glen Valley Convention. 1990. See Chapter Ten for complete text.
The workers are believed, by those inside the cult, to receive their sermons from God, as they speak on the preaching platform. This is not only a claim to exclusive new revelation, but points up their style of extemporary preaching. (See "Preaching.") The tenet of "continuing revelation" through the workers is, in itself, a potent factor in stifling dissent within the group.
Right Church
Exclusively "The Truth."
It is commonly preached by workers, that there is only one "True Church," which of course is the right church. That church is claimed to be perfect, while the members are said to be less than perfect. As the workers also teach that the church is not a building - but is rather the people, it becomes obvious that their statement contains serious logical flaws in claiming a "perfect church" composed of "imperfect members."
This type of claim borders on either meaningless words, or absolute blindness of mind. It is my opinion from personal experience, that the problem is the latter.
Right Preacher
Only those who renounce and forsake all possessions and go out preaching in couples; in other words, only the Two-by-Two preachers.
Right Spirit
The expected attitude towards "The Truth" and especially its workers. To agree with each and every opinion generally held. Regular attendance of all local meetings. Appearance of abiding by each and every point of unwritten law. Seeming understanding of the "gospel" by a stranger, and especially the acceptance that "The Truth" is the one and only true church. These things being held by a person, or practiced, as the case warrants, are believed to be the result of personal guidance of the believer by the RIGHT SPIRIT, in other words, the Holy Spirit is implicated.
- "For the spirit and attitude you assume toward those that have made themselves poor, homeless and strangers for the gospel's sake will ultimately determine where you will be in eternity." Jack Carroll.
Rod of Iron
The laws of the workers, both the scriptural law and their "unwritten, unspoken laws." When their followers begin to appear to have slipped away from the tenets of these laws, the workers will speak of using the "Rod" unless they repent.
Here are but a few examples:
- 'I don't like to see trends of some things amongst God's people; such as make up, jewelry and games. We don't want to see law have to be used. We need clean homes, not videos. You folks will have to decide whether we have to use the rod." Head Worker B.C. Glen Valley Convention, August 4, 1988.
- "There are some people inside this family of God who believe that this is a free for all. They feel that they are at liberty to do what their minds and hearts desire. They imagine that there is no discipline, no order, no government inside God's Kingdom. This is not so. The mark of a good government is that it is not seen until it is needed. Someone said, 'The less governed, the better governed.' There is no room in the Family of God for lawless men or women." Jack Carroll, Hayden Lake Convention, June 26, 1949.
- "I have a list that is growing of friends that are attending hockey games, causing them to worship the idols of this world." Worker, Glen Valley Convention. August 4, 1988.
On the other hand, when they are trying to attract a new convert, the following type of preaching will take place.
- "We don't set down a list of rules or regulations and tell them what they can and cannot do. They are satisfied in Jesus. " Senior Worker, 1977.
Which of the above workers were telling the truth? The first three; the other lied. You would be very wrong to assume that the last holds different opinions. He was engaged in the common preaching, that they have no laws, putting the minds to sleep. The other three were faced with the results of those who believed it. This church cannot afford to let its people be free, because within a decade it would lack even the superficial appearances of the "first century church." The unwritten, but by no means unenforced, laws offer an outward show of adherence to supposed "marks of the first century church," and they share this deceptive ploy with many other cults. All of the laws of the workers are directed so as to produce this appearance. One might recall that their very "gospel" of unmarried, homeless, poor preachers has no room for any married, non-preaching church body.
The ordinary lay members of "The Truth" have always been a big problem for the workers, regardless of their keeping to the unwritten laws, since there is nothing in the section of Scripture that this whole ministry claims to be based upon which even remotely includes anyone, other than preachers.
If the workers dwell too heavily on the "gospel" that they believe, in its absolute form, there can be no church body of non-preachers. If there is no body of non-preacher believers, all you have left is a lot of unconnected evangelists who have Jesus as their PATTERN, but not as their SAVIOUR, whose purpose would be to produce more unconnected evangelists, who will go about doing just as poorly at keeping the standard of the pattern as their teachers have done. A group of nothing but teachers can hardly be called a church of the New Testament style, since even the workers know that there was more to the Church than just the twelve Apostles, Paul, and the seventy within the first century church.
The logical problems arising from conflicting Two-by-Two "gospel," doctrines and practice may help one gain some understanding of the workers' dilemma. They must either admit that they are false apostles, leading many to hell, or adopt a legalistic "Situational Theology" that is full of contradictions, and outright lies. It should be obvious which choice the workers have made, but are they not then guilty of being false apostles also since the Scriptures set out the true Gospel in absolute terms? How is it that the "gospel" of the workers claims to have no laws only so long as everybody obeys them? Is it not very likely that unless the worker comes to understand the Biblical Gospel, the "rod" he speaks of will strike his own head? If you insist on becoming righteous by keeping laws, then God says that you will be judged by the law; not your law, but His law. How inconceivably tragic to end up that way, ignoring God's GIFT of His righteousness -- which the Scriptures promise will be imputed to YOUR account, if you will merely believe what God says about His Son!
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. "
