A Former Member Looks at the Mormon Church Today
5 of 5: “Can You Un-Cult a Cult?”
I know that many people are unsure today of the definition of the word “cult.” When I was writing one of my books, Why We Left a Cult: Six People Tell Their Stories (Baker), several challenges arose. First, of course, was to formulate a working definition of a pseudo-Christian cult.1 Second (and, I thought at first, easiest) was to identify groups which qualified to be called cults. The third challenge was finding suitable ex-cultists to interview.
In the course of narrowing down my list of cults, I paused over theWorldwide Church of God. At that time, just after the death of the founder Herbert W. Armstrong, WWCG members began to question many of the former legalistic doctrines, exclusivist teachings, and prophetic speculations of its authoritarian and charismatic founder.
In the end, I decided not to include the WWCG in my list of cults. Much to the dismay of ex-WWCG members (whose angry letters to me still grace cyberspace – see, Mormons, I am an equal-opportunity offender), I acknowledged that I saw a possibility of true change. “I am fascinated with the prospect that a cult, as a group, can turn to God,” I wrote in the introduction to my book.
On April 3, 2009, the group formerly known as The Worldwide Church of God announced a name change to reflect what it calls its “complete reformation to Christian orthodoxy.” The group publicly repudiated all the aberrant teachings of Armstrong. The “Grace Communion International” now is Trinitarian, Incarnational, and teaches salvation by grace.
The cult is no longer a cult.
Mormonism earnestly desires to leave behind its cultic image. I know that to be the case. They give new, special prominence to the name of Jesus Christ in their logo. The missionary lessons that used to begin with the story of Joseph Smith (and his assertion, still in their scriptures, that all Christian churches were wrong and their adherents corrupt) now put the focus elsewhere, on Christian-ness and family values. They actively seek bridges between their church and those of traditional, orthodox Christianity.
I want that, too. I would love for every word I ever wrote about Mormonism’s great distance from orthodoxy to be as obsolete as the old books about the Worldwide Church of God.
Here’s how Grace Communion International did it. They didn’t just change representations, they changed facts. In other words, they didn’t just want people’s perceptions of their doctrines to change, they changed their doctrines.
Can Mormonism do that? Can they abandon the deification of man, the humanizing of God, the ostracizing of Scripture, and embrace salvation through faith?
My favorite proverb is apt here:
“No matter how far you have gone down the wrong road, turn around!”
1) Though a group may have characteristics such as charismatic authoritarian leadership, unconventional dress and practices, or reclusive living, none of these demand the label of cult. What follows is admittedly a simplified definition, because of necessary limitations of space. A pseudo-Christian cult uses the terminology of Christianity and the Bible, but does four things. First, it humanizes God or otherwise redefines Him in unorthodox terms. Second, it deifies humans or otherwise redefines them other than how the Bible does. Thirdly, it ostracizes Scripture by devaluing, rewriting, or defining it as only one of multiple sources of scripture. And fourth, it provides a different view of salvation other than the orthodox one.
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Hi, I just wanted to address your four points with regards to the Worldwide Church of God/Grace Communion International:
A pseudo-Christian cult uses the terminology of Christianity and the Bible, but does four things.
First, it humanizes God or otherwise redefines Him in unorthodox terms.
Gracie definitely does the former, as the party line is now to say "Christ is fully human", so that's Part A of your first box ticked; hearsay suggests at least one Grace Communion International pastor, in writing, advised a former member that it was perfectly fine to "deny the personhood of the Holy Spirit", which I was under the impression was THE deal-breaker for Christians. So there's part B ticked.
"Second, it deifies humans or otherwise redefines them other than how the Bible does."
Not sure if they tick this box anymore or not; fact of the matter is, you'll be hard-pressed to find any of Gracie's "theologians" (there's a reason the word is in quotes) even quoting from the Christian Bible at all, anymore. But that ticks your third point more, I would guess.
Thirdly, it ostracizes Scripture by devaluing, rewriting, or defining it as only one of multiple sources of scripture.
Grace Communion International pastors now almost exclusively quote NAE-approved theological "scholars", and rarely (if ever) do they quote from "Scripture" or relate the trinitarian preaching they're still trying to make sense of, back to "Scripture". (Well, they can't, anyway -- but that's another topic entirely!) So does that tick box number three for you?
And fourth, it provides a different view of salvation other than the orthodox one.
The church used to preach that salvation was universal, and would be offered to all, during the Second Resurrection/Great White Throne Judgement. Now they teach that salvation is only available to those who believe Jesus is fully human (which ticks your first box, I believe), and that the Trinity is real. I much prefer the universalism I grew up with, although I have discarded the other Armstrongist teachings.
I'm not sure what definition you are using for "orthodox" though, as that word has different meanings dependent on context and content.
Far more disturbing in my opinion, than the church's theology (or lack thereof), is the fact that their finances remain a completely closed book (with hundreds of millons of dollars from the sale of both campuses still completely unaccounted for), the fact that the church is still ruled over by an unelected, unaccountable, governor-for-life Pastor General, Joseph Tkach Jr.
Who, it must be noted, promised to step down and hold elections in 1997, but reneged and now has complete totalitarian control of the church, just recently disbanding the Canadian arm of GCI's board of directors, and taking control of it --- from Glendora, California. Hearsay alleges he writes himself a salary for $180K a year but, again, no one knows how much he's making, because the church's finances remain a closed book, except for the disturbing fact (admitted to me by a pastor of one of the congregations earlier this year) that 15% of all "donations" from 900 congregations worldwide are sent to "the denominational Headquarters" with absolutely zero accountability as to how the funds are distributed, dispersed, or what they are for.
Growing anecdotal accounts (like the one of the binitarian, Holy-Spirit-Person-denying pastor above) also lend credence to the theory, long-held by ex-members, that the "denomination" is so desperate to hold onto what few members they have, they "look the other way" when their members continue to "hold fast to the truths once delivered" (in the mistaken belief that WCG/GCI is still "the true church" and they are just waiting for "God's correction"), i.e., Sabbath-keeping, dietary laws, keeping "the Holy Days" with splinter groups, and so on and so forth.
There are still far too many questions, and far too little transparency, to declare Grace Communion International/the Worldwide Church of God 100% cult-symptom-free yet, in my opinion. And in the opinion of many other ex-members.
Thank you for your time in reading this.
This is compelling information. It would really help those of us who don't know how to follow up, if you would provide some online documentation, if that's possible.
Thank you so much.
As not only a member of GCI, but also as a Senior Pastor of a GCI congregation in SC; I also would like to see some online documentation, instead of comments like "hearsay".
First here is a link to our statement of beliefs.
http://www.gci.org/aboutus/beliefs
As you can see we believe that Christ is BOTH fully God and fully man, and we link the scriptures from THE BIBLE to support this view.
I can not speak to what the alleged and unnamed GCI pastor said in regards to the Holy Spirit, but once again you can see from our statement of beliefs that GCI does NOT deny the person hood of the Holy Spirit.
As far as the accusation that GCI no longer uses the Bible; you can plainly see that the Bible is exactly what we used when writing our statement of beliefs. Not only that, but I use both a NAS and a NIV, and occasionally reference a KJV, (which is what I grew up on). on a weekly basis not only as I prepare for my sermons, but also in my personal time.
For what it matters we still have plenty of Theologians within our denomination. I am personal friends with several of them. In addition to that we also have a working relationship with other mainstream Theologians outside of our denomination. Following is a link to our website where we have interviews with many of them.
http://www.gci.org/yi
As a person that did NOT grow up in WCG, not only do I find our current perspective in line with s0-called main stream Christianity; but I find our Biblical and Grace based stance refreshing. Our denomination has been forgiven much from our mis-guided days, so it behooves us to attempt to approach everything with humility.
We strive to view EVERYTHING through the lens of the BIBLE, and more importantly through CHRIST as He is revealed to us primarily through the Bible, and secondly through our personal relationship with Him.
As far as our financial records.....Yes a set amount is sent to HQ ever week. In the past, everything was sent to HQ for their use/discretion. Now we send in 15% (which incidentally as a pastor I have the ability to view online what it is being used for).
As far as "Joe" is concerned; I am not sure if he makes $180 k a year. I guess I could ask him the next time that I see him. After all he is an accessible person. He does not hide out in some ivory tower somewhere. Even before I became a Pastor he was accessible. However, I would not want his job for $180 k. (especially not with the extremely high cost of living in California).
If anybody has any questions regarding our statement of beliefs or our denomination please do not hesitate to contact me. I can be reached through the church email at christourpeace@gmail.com which will be forwarded to my personal email.
Or if you would like, you can reach somebody directly through our Denominational HQ by clicking on the contact link through the website.
Most Sincerely in Christ, Rocky Ray
I appreciate your insights. Thank you so much for posting.
Though I am a year and half late to this conversation, I think I can add to this dialogue. I grew up in WCG and even attended Ambassador College when the church was still in the kingdom of the cults. My family and I quit attending ever since their metamorphosis into an evangelical denomination in 1995. The doctrinal changes did not bring with it a healthy environment in our local church so we had to make a change. Praise God! we were saved and began to understand the true gospel. We became orthodox in our theology and became members of an EV Free church.
I’ve had little interest in WCG/GCI except for the personal friends who’ve remained that I see from time to time – until 3 years ago when my son-in-law was drawn in to plant a church for GCI by his associations as a former WCG child and his mentors through GCI summer camps. I assumed GCI taught sound doctrine until this year when “headquarters” sent out a “co-pastor” to build up the church (numerically) and to mentor my son-in-law in all things “Trinitarian Incarnational Theology.” This almost immediately forced my husband and I to quickly start paying attention to what GCI teaches via their website and Surprising God blog. http://www.gci.org and http://thesurprisinggodblog.gci.org/
Unfortunately, once "headquarters" sent their pastor as an authority over the church and took over the majority of preaching, it became apparent that they are teaching a brand of “You’re Included” universalism.
This is an entire denomination – though not large – but still influential and international. Some of the more prominent names that they study, interview, and refer to in their articles are Karl Barth, T.F. Torrance, C. Baxter Kruger, Steve McVey, and Gary Deddo. I’m not all familiar with these men, however, I’ve done a short order study on Barth, Torrance, and Kruger in the past 9 months. I’ve discovered their brand of “Trinitarian” incarnational theology that they adhere to (which according to an email I received from Bob Deeway some months ago informed me) is not orthodox Trinitarian theology. I have discovered many of their "headquarter" bigwigs studied at Fuller Theological Seminary in the late 90's and have been big proponents of contemplative spirituality since then as well.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around their definition of “Trinitarian” because it cannot be defined in the historical and orthodox sense. Is it possible that they are still preaching a different gospel? Ted Johnston of the Surprising God blog admits that GCI are hopeful universalists. They believe that ALL of humanity was born again 2000 years ago - whether or not ALL of humanity are believers. They hold to inclusivism and though they try to sidestep the charge that they are full blown universalists, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then...
This is not to mention that their theology comes from the philosophy of men rather than Sola Scriptura. All one has to do is read several of the articles on their website or the blog to find this to be true.
I want to bring this to your attention because WCG/GCI was once a notorious cult that now has the reputation of being transformed into orthodox evangelicalism. However, it's ever apparent that they still follow the teachings and doctrines of men rather than Holy Scripture. Many of the people who remain in these older churches were WCG church members for 30+ years and are loyalists rather than dedicated Bible believers. It's obvious that they are still being spoon fed what they should believe rather than being encouraged to open their Bibles and read God's Word for themselves. I confessed to a new acquaintance visiting our church plant 2 weeks ago that I was not an adherent to Trinitarian Incarnational Theology. She wrote a letter to me this week encouraging me to read C. Baxter Kruger books and The Shack so that I would realize who God is and how much He loves me. In a 3 page letter endorsing Kruger, she mentioned and proof-texted one scripture John 12:31-32.
So the question remains: Can you uncult a cult? Whether you believe WCG to have been a cult or not, those of us on the inside know it to be true. And now after years of being out and then being drawn back in to support my son-in-law's church plant -- it is apparent those philosophies and tactics have not been removed, but remain. A quick internet search will take you to the Exit Support Network where there is a plethora of evidence regarding the money trail left in the wake of 1995.
The only additional thing I will mention is that I watched with great interest Ed Decker's documentaries The God Makers (1 & 2). In amazement -- it was as if Ed was making a documentary of WCG back in the 1970's and 80's. It's worth mentioning that Herbert W. Armstrong borrowed heavily from LDS doctrine and brought it into WCG as "truth." It's no wonder I saw myself in many of those young girls in the videos. Strikingly similar.
I have listened carefully to what you have said and am sobered by it. I wonder, do you believe a cult can be un-culted?
No - I don't believe a cult can be un-culted as it pertains to WCG/GCI. The Holy Spirit can cause regeneration in a person in a cult who will eventually recognize the false teachings of his/her doctrine - which in turn, will motivate them to leave the cult (ie, former Catholics, former Mormons, former JW's, former Amish, former WCG'ers, etc). From the creation of the Church in Acts 2 through to today, there has never been such a metamorphosis in an entire denomination as claimed by WCG. The revisionist history that Joe Tkach Jr. writes about in his book "Transformed by Truth" has very little to do with the actual truth and more to do with hiding the truth. A quick google search of Exit Support Network reveals the real motives behind such a move toward orthodoxy and the deception behind it.
You may be able to make the argument that a cult (GCI) can be un-culted -- but the people baring the scares of cultism that remain in the cult un-culted bear witness by their own denial and blind obedience to one and the same church. I still hear my very own mother (who today belongs to a reformed Baptist church) say she believes she was fortunate and blessed to have been in WCG because she believes she has better insight into the OT from observing all the law (Armstrong-style of course). In other words, you can't always take the cult out of the people - even if it were possible to un-cult a cult. The main reason my parents left WCG 15 years ago was because all their friends went with a splinter COG group. They are still plagued by doctrines and attitudes they held with in WCG even though they embrace a reformed theology now. There is a sense of specialness or pride-fulness in the members believing that God led the hierarchy of the church out of Armstrongism and into the light of the Truth! (BTW - Armstrong coined the phrase "The Truth" to refer to his errant gospel and Joe Jr's book was titled Transformed by Truth...interesting).
We still attend our son-in-laws GCI church plant and act as a type of restrainer. The co-pastor has made it clear that we are not to be holding any position of leadership within the 15+/- people that attend (mostly 20-somethings) because we don't tithe corporately and won't conform to their theology. (Side note, most of the congregants don't even know what Trinitarian incarnational theology is and are, themselves, biblically illiterate for the most part). GCI continues to promote the doctrine of "hopeful" universalism and inclusivism. They continue to condemn those who don't tithe. They continue to enforce a top down hierarchy with the militaristic title of Pastor General. Moreover, they are not growing by the usual means of new converts, but rather their churches continue to age with the membership that never left.
Though "God is love" and "You're Included" are the catch phrases of GCI's universalism message today; and are building a "missional/purpose-driven/seeker-sensitive" model church; the hierarchy still enjoys absolute power over the hearts and minds of their loyal followers who've never been healed of their cult mindset. GCI will no doubt assimilate into the neo-orthodox emergent church movement with whom they've already been flirting, but the fact remains that their loyal members would rather die than leave the ONLY church they can trust with their salvation. No - the cult status is still in effect in one sense or another.
I believe you have some good reasons for saying what you are saying. Please remember that I haven't ever said that the WCG had completely transited out of cultdom. To be honest, I don't know.
They have now gone into hyper-grace territory and the foolish sheep are tagging along......
Very perceptive comment. The good thing about sheep is they can follow. The bad thing.....
I wish that Sola Sis would give a bit of chapter and verse to substantiate the claims. I am a pastor in GCI and I have read about the "emergent church" movement and know that what I read is not what we believe nor preach. I cannot speak for solitary individuals, even pastors, but that is not in line with our Statement of Beliefs, which surely should be taken as the rod according to which any of us preachers and teachers should be measured.
Claiming that Barth, TF Torrance and some of the others are associated with us , is the same as saying the that Paul is associated with us - after all, we quote him extensively as well, and even base a lot of what we believe on what he wrote. Still, I am honoured that the writers feel this way. Are they aware that Torrance did a definitive translation of Calvin's Institutes (amongst other works)?
In turn, the Statement of Beliefs is what can be measured by anyone who wishes, against the Holy Scriptures. How about criticizing that? It is there for all to read and point out the errors.
Then, I wish Francois Goode would explain what "hyper-grace" is so that I could say whether he is right or not.
As to the assertion that we never preach from the Bible...
How does one prove the contrary, other than to point to our website which is completely open to all and point to the many hundreds of pages of free Bible Study -- why not actually take some of those and critique them (or criticize them if that is what you wish). At least we can then respond.
Making oblique comments and then ...
Just how does one respond to that?
Let's be fair.
I have noticed they have zero stance on heaven and hell, saying the Bible isn't clear on these subjects, when in fact Jesus spoke of hell extensively!!! They same to have a belief system that second chances are offered after death. This appears to degate the reason Jesus needed to suffer an unimaginable death on the cross!