THE WINNIPEG SUN Friday, August 5, 1994
Secret sect splits families
THEY ARE walking the streets of Winnipeg this summer, seeking converts ... believers in a sect shrouded in secrecy, masked in mystery, but so powerful they split families apart, literally mother from child.
Yet they are known worldwide as "the church with no name."
At times, they are called the "Cooneyites" or the "Two-by-Two's," in Germany "Die Namenlosen" and in France "Les Anonymes."
I have just finished a two month investigation into their beliefs, methods of conducting "business," origins ... and the resulting tragedies which have befallen some Manitoba families where an individual member joins up ... or, as they say, "professes."
The two so-called "sent ones" with whom I made contact refused any discussion and promptly changed the site of Winnipeg "meetings" when I told them I was a reporter.
The nameless sect was founded by William Irvine, a Scottish-born evangelist who went to work in the south of Ireland in 1896. One night, upon reading Matthew (Chapter 10, 8-10, KJV), Irvine set out the path for the nameless church:
"Freely ye have received, freely give.Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses; nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes nor yet staves; for the workman is worthy of his meat."
He interpreted the verses as a message that because the clergy were paid salaries and provided with homes and church buildings, they had turned aside from what he came to believe was Christ's principle of an unpaid, itinerant ministry.
All this seems fair enough and certainly in North America where "freedom of religion" is enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and the U.S. Constitution, Irvine's disciples in this the latter part of the 20th century would seem to have every right to practise (sic) what they preach.
But do they? You decide.
The trash TV shows and tabloid newspapers would not find much to splash across their headlines. The "no-names" do not engage in human sacrifice, or child sex; believers shun publicity and maintain a policy of "being apart from the world."
They go to extreme lengths to cover their identities.
You will notice, once in a while', the odd mention of one of their meetings in the classified section of The Sun and The Other Paper.
They do not give a name in these small ads.
They were given the name "Cooneyites" after Edward Cooney, from Enniskillen, Ireland, who listened to Irvine's teachings and formed the opinion the Scotsman "was a prophet raised by God to lead back those in Christendom to the truth as it is in Jesus."
He offered to back the mission. Irvine replied: "God doesn't want your money. He wants you, Edward."
Cooney sold his business interests and lands, donated his life's savings... and devoted himself to preaching. At that time, newspapers described the movement as "an experiment in Christian communism," which is a fascinating theory since I have always felt basic Christianity was and still is raw basic communism.
In 1903, Irvine sailed for America; others went around the world.
A map I have obtained from the early 1970s, shows this sect had centres in Manitoba as far north as The Pas at the time.
They became particularly strong in Australia.
And yet, with this increasing membership, the "Two-by-Two's" maintained a secrecy that still exists today - no collection plates, no church buildings anywhere. complete rejection of orthodoxy and/or rational, objective study of Scriptures, no wedding ceremonies, no scriptural education for members or ministers, no published doctrine.
No wonder they call it the "church with no name."
It has no doctrine.
And yet it is splitting some Manitoba families apart at the very foundations of their relationships.
Next Friday: Simple God - Sheer Terror!
- Peter Warren is the moderator of the CJOB Radio Action Line program.
- Watch for him every Friday in your Winnipeg Sun
THE WINNIPEG SUN Friday, August 12, 1994
The church that preys
With an infant daughter in her arms, Alicia Smith (not her real name) of Winnipeg "Professed" to serve God in the so called "Two-by-Two" religion 13 years ago.
A couple of years before, other family members had been sucked into this mysterious sect which, as told last week, is known world-wide as "the church with no name" or 'Cooneyites" or in German "Die Namenlosen" or in French "Les Anonymes."
After a two-month investigation into this group - and a rare meeting with the "sent ones" - Alicia told me her story:
"I was coerced into trusting basically by the ministry. Rooted with the fear of God in you they easily manipulate you."
Her family is now split : the infant she held in her arms as she gave "her life to God" 13 years ago, has professed and is "one of them;" her brothers and sisters remain 'professed unto God'" and, she told me, "my husband and teenage sons do not profess ... so we live in a divided home."
This is a religion, founded by a Scottish evangelist, nurtured in southern Ireland in the 1890s and spread throug (sic) the world. chiefly Australia and North America, by the "two-by-two's" since then. No scriptures. No doctrine. No ideologies. But there is a common thread, I found.
They claim no headquarters, although there are more than 300 "workers" listed in Canada. I call them recruiters.
They do not have any bricks-and-mortar churches, but they sure as heck hold meetings.
My infiltration, through several members who want out, led me to learn of recent "conferences" in Emo, Ont., Bowsman and Portage la Prairie in Manitoba. From there, they sent out "two-by-twos" to what they call "field" operations.
Four pairs will be working in Winnipeg all summer.
But there is a more sober, somber aspect of the "church with no name."
They prey on mentally ill people, or people dissatisfied with their own religion or those who just want something onto which they can hold. or who have little control over their lives.
A new book about this group, Reflections Workers, Gospel and the Nameless-house Sect, in the U.S. Library of Congress, spells out story after story about people (including Canadians) who joined.
Let me quote you directly from first person accounts, all members of the no-name church:
"I suffer religious addiction. I am in the 2x2s and I feel so hopeless."
"Two of my brothers died within three years apart - alcohol suicide. I am now 59 an clean houses, hoping to have 40 credits for Social Security and Medicare by the age of 70."
"I was born in 1905, taught piano for 40 years. I have had eye surgery and get around in a wheelchair. I "professed" what I owned . . . and they sold my $750 television for $150."
"I spent a lot of time in psychiatric wards as a young adult. I was diagnosed as everything from schizophrenic to a manic-depressive. I am sure many of my problems came from confusion and conflict with what they called The Truth." "I remember the first time I heard the word "neurotic" and asked Mom what it meant. She told me it was a word describing people who were nervous, depressed and acted unpredictably or were emotionally disturbed. Immediately, I thought it was describing the "professing people" to whom we belonged and I wondered what God thought about it all."
Yes, they believe; yes, for the most part, they are innocent of any form of physical assault on members or children.
But the mental abuse they dish out to people who "profess to God" under the dictate of a group without scripture, without order, on the belief of an whiskey-soured tailor from southern Ireland .................
Dear Reader, you have been warned about the "church with no-name."
The broken families with whom I speak are terrorized.
- Peter Warren is the moderator of the CJOB Radio Action Line program.
- Watch for him every Friday in your Winnipeg Sun
