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Church Education Resource Ministries |
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This cult is unlike many others
in that its theology closely resembles that of Apostolic/Oneness
Pentecostalism. I
personally know of a member from this cult named Robert Sowle who posts in one of the Newsgroups that I used to frequent.
His theology is so close to that of Oneness Pentecostalism, I at
first mistook him as being Oneness. Although Sowle denies being a
part of the Way, it is obvious from his teachings that Sowle's
theology is from the Way. Before
we dive into the theological errors of this cult, let's get an
introduction and a little background.
National Website: http://www.theway.org/
Founder: Victor
Paul Wierwille, born 1917, and Deceased 1985. It is also notable that
Wierwille had purchased a doctorate from a diploma mill called
Pikes Peak Bible Seminary. Wierwille was also a conspiracy
theorist with a militia mentality. Wierwille warned his
followers about the Illuminati,
a supposed world cartel of powerful individuals secretly planning to
overthrow the
Headquarters: Just
outside of
Membership: Over one hundred thousand all over the world
Origins: According to Wierwille, in 1942 God spoke
to him and told him that he would interpret the bible in a new way
and that he would teach it according to the principles of the early
church. However it was not until 1957 that Wierwille resigned his
pastorate in the United Church of Christ. Wirwille went on to develop
a radio program and began to preach his new doctrines. No significant
growth occurred within this cult until the Jesus movement of the
1960’s. I was not alive at the time, so cannot speak from
experience. Sadly many began to follow, and many will sadly join him
in hell, unless they are reached by the gospel of Jesus Christ, and
that will not happen, until they realize the devils stronghold on the
lies taught in this cult.
Publications: Jesus Christ is not God, by Wierwille.
Comments: Before we dive into the core doctrines
the reader must learn a few facts about the Way.
It has been reported that this cult
practices mind control
to control its members. For example leadership within the Way
International tells followers whom to date, whom to marry, when to
separate or to divorce, how to spend their time and money, how to
discipline their children, when to quit a job, etc..The
Way International condemns everyone outside their organization as
being demon possessed. In my experience Robert Sowle has on many
occasions claimed that Satan controls me, and has stated that He is
my father. He has said as much about nearly every Fundamentalist
Christian that has confronted this man’s hellfire teachings.
But its also shocking that this man has said as much about other
Christian cults who have confronted this mans doctrines. Profanity
and name-calling are typical in the language of The Way followers and
leaders. This personally is not surprising as Robert Sowle (whom I
mentioned earlier) has on many occasions called me very defaming
names. For example he has (without any factual evidence) at times
claimed that I do some very sick things. This man has a very sick
head, which he probably learned from his leaders. It has been
reported that on May 4th, 1997 the then Way President Martindale set
an example in a brief 15-minute talk to his followers where he cussed
out a storm. Looking at this example its no wonder that Robert Sowle
behaves the way he does.
Doctrines:
Below are
some of the historic essential Christian doctrines that the Way
denies.
Doctrine #1-The
Doctrine of the trinity
The Way
International denies the Trinity of God. Below are some of many
verses that show that God is manifested in three persons often
referred to as the trinity
Matthew 28:18-20 New King
James Version
And Jesus came and spoke to
them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on
earth.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and
lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
Genesis 1:26 New King James Version
Then God said, "Let Us make man
in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over
the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle,
over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the
earth."
2Cor. 13:14 New International Version
May the grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be
with you all.
1 Peter 1:2 New
King James Version
Elect according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for
obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
The trinity doctrine is
a
difficult concept to understand, and although in this lifetime we many
not fully
comprehend the concept, God only expects us to apprehend it meaning to
believe in it, does not necessarily mean that we will understand it
fully. Often
do opponents of the Trinity claim that the doctrine is false because
the word is never ÒexplicitlyÓ mentioned in the scriptures.
Well there are dozens and dozens of theological words that are never
explicitly mentioned in the scriptures, but whose concepts are
taught. For example, the word ÒBibleÓ is never mentioned in
the Bible, but few Way International followers would deny the meaning
of the word.
Doctrine
#2-The Deity of Jesus Christ
This cult believes that
Jesus Christ has no preincarnata existence except in the mind of God
the father. They believe that Jesus is the son of God but is not God
himself. Wierville says then following in his book "Jesus Christ
is, God himself, but merely the Son of God. They are not co-eternal,
without beginning or end, and co-equal. Jesus Christ was not
literally with God in the beginning; neither does he have all the
assessts of God" (Jesus Christ is not God, p.5).
However an examination
of scripture will show that Jesus is God and was with God the father.
Wierville has not read the bible.
John 1:1-2 New King
James Version
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.He was in the
beginning with God.
John 1:14 New King James Version
And the Word became flesh and
dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 8:58 King James Version
Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
John 14:9 New King James Version
Jesus said to him, "Have I been
with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has
seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ÒShow us the
FatherÓ?
Jesus in the above verses is proven to be With God in the beginning
of time, and equal in essence with God himself. Go ahead and check it
out in the Greek and you will see that the New King James Version is
completely accurate in the above verses.
Doctrine
#3-The Personhood of the Holy Spirit
The founder of this cult
Paul Wierville denied the deity and personhood of the Holy Spirit. He
argued that in some texts the term should be translated capitalized
and in other verses with all small letters. He believed that Holy
Spirit is another name for God the father. Like God the father has
multiple names. The way International denies that the Holy Spirit
comes into a man when he is saved, because they deny that the Holy
Spirit is a person. They believe He is a power or a force. Kinda like
the force in the Star Wars films.
Doctrine
#4-Salvation by Grace through Faith
Wierwille separated
faith from believing. In his view salvation does not involve
repentance of sins. But only doing "the will of God" (the Bible Tells
Me So, p. 18; Jesus Christ is not God, pp. 238-257). The Way also
teaches that those that are saved cannot sin in his spirit. His body
and soul can sin, but not his spirit-this can lead to sinful
practices that are said to not affect the spirit of a person.
Some bible verses that indicate salvation by grace
Ephesians 2:8-9 New
King James Version
For by grace you have been saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest
anyone should boast.
Romans 3:21-25 New King James Version
But now the righteousness of God
apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the
Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus
Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,being
justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through
faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance
God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
The way has many other false teachings like Soul Sleep, and they also believe that everyone born
again will be able to speak in tongues. This seems contrary to what
the bible teaches on the subject in 1 Cor 12-13.
The Way Claims that every true believer should speak in
tongues. [Wierwille taught "tongues" by
having his followers relax and inhale "holy Spirit" through "heavy
breathing" which he claimed was a more accurate translation of
"mighty rushing wind" in Acts 2:2 (Receiving the Holy Spirit Today,
pp. 61-62).]
Perhaps you know of a friend that is in this cult. If this is you,
then please send his or her name to me, and I will add him or her to
my prayer list, so he or she can receive prayer.
There is obviously much more that can be said of this cult, and I
hope that this brief bible message on the way will entice you to do
some research.
Some websites on the Way International
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_International
http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Cults/way.htm
http://www.carm.org/list/way.htm
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