... I would still like to stress the following: according to the New Apostolic understanding of faith, the Apostle ministry has been endowed with the authority to interpret Holy Scripture. This does not mean that believers will not profit from reading the Bible. But it falls to the Apostle ministry to interpret the Bible, to clarify matters, and to provide instruction in faith. In so doing, Scriptural passages are considered in their context, since overemphasis on individual statements can lead to the wrong conclusions.Truly amazing when you consider that the only apostles who may have been able to claim such authority were the original apostles mentioned in the Bible. The New Apostolic Church believes that their apostles were "called" in the 1830's after some zealots had a few dreams and visions. Oh, and after the church went through a few schisms, too. The NAC apostles are all laymen, there's not one of them that has had any formal theological training, yet somehow it "falls" on these self-appointed men to interpret the Bible and tell everyone exactly what it is they're reading. And to "clarify matters". Gotcha.
If, as Willy says up there, scriptural passages are to be considered in their context, can any NAC "apostle" point out exactly where in the Bible it mentions people flopping around on the floor in the 1830's and appointing these men as "God's Ambassadors"? Can they show me where the Bible mentions a "Chief Apostle" being appointed by God in the 19th century?
If not, I think it's safe to say they're full of crap.
The apostles in the 1830's were from the Catholic Apostolic Church and would likely not have come into existence if it wasn't for Henry Drummonds bankrole and Edward Irvings followers.
ReplyDeleteOne thing can be said for Drummond's efforts, at least he took a few years to research his investment(Albury conferences held 1828-1832)with an ample array of theologically learned men als0 documenting those efforts by employing a lawyer named John Bates Cardale. Later both of these men attained high positions and control over the polity of the Catholic Apostolic Church.
The schism during 1863 in Hamburg resulted in the birth of the New Apostolic Church present today but whose purpose and liturgy has deviated from it's Catholic Apostolic roots.
Drummond wrote articles and published papers imagining what a "second outpouring" would be like. There were also prophecies that had taken place earlier in Germany which Drummond knew about, so I'm sure he included items from those events in his articles as well. Sure enough, six months later some deluded individuals in his own congregation began speaking in tongues right on cue, exactly as Drummond had "predicted".
ReplyDeleteAs for those "theologically learned men", they invented a second outpouring of the Spirit which had no basis whatsoever in scripture, and Drummond and Cardale thus declared themselves the leaders of this new movement.
Rich...
ReplyDelete"As for those "theologically learned men", they invented a second outpouring of the Spirit which had no basis whatsoever in scripture, and Drummond and Cardale thus declared themselves the leaders of this new movement."
Yeah Drummond sure had some idea's coming with daddy's inheritance in hand, plus taking care of monarchy money must have given him some influence to get away with it. Later when his new church was up against opposition he bought himself a seat in government and opposed the Roman Catholics influence in parliament.
At least Drummond's present day contemporaries of Bill and Belinda Gates have found better use of their fortune. Still I wonder, if they started a church how successful would it be?
Anonymous asks: Still I wonder, if they started a church how successful would it be?
ReplyDeleteI guess they'd have as good a chance as any other church. I read somewhere that if a church (or cult) can survive beyond 40 years, there's a good chance they'll succeed for a loooong time. I just have to remember where I saw that. :p
I saw this missive from Wilhelm Leber, "Chief Apostle" of the NAC, on the New Apostolic Church International website:
ReplyDelete... I would still like to stress the following: according to the New Apostolic understanding of faith, the Apostle ministry has been endowed with the authority to interpret Holy Scripture. This does not mean that believers will not profit from reading the Bible. But it falls to the Apostle ministry to interpret the Bible, to clarify matters, and to provide instruction in faith. In so doing, Scriptural passages are considered in their context, since overemphasis on individual statements can lead to the wrong conclusions.
Why would the leader of the NAC make such a statement? For an organization like the NAC to survive, it must maintain its power and control over its membership. How is this accomplished? In my opinion, primarily through ignorance and fear.
However, the NAC has become quite adept at disguising ignorance and fear as something else more palatable to the believers. How? It seems to me that ignorance has been repackaged as obedience in faith to the apostle's ministry. In other words, blindly accept without question whatever edicts are issued from them. The last thing in the world they want the membership to do is look too closely at the bible. Afterall, they might actually realize that many important aspects of their doctrine cannot be substantiated in the bible.
The above quote by the CA is a prime example of this. Who exactly gave the NAC apostles authority to interpret the scriptures? Did God say this? Jesus? Does it say anywhere in the bible that ordinary human beings are not capable of understanding scripture and therefore need a middle-man? Or, was it decided by a group of men who needed to keep the members in a state of ignorance to maintain their control?
Fear has also been disguised, and members are indoctrinated to believe that unless they believe and accept the collective word of the apostles, they risk not being found worthy in the eyes of God. In other words, they are made to believe their soul salvation is at stake. Fear of damnation has been disguised as God-fear.They are conditioned to believe this is what God wants them to do.
The discouragement of thinking and reasoning has always been the keynote of the NAC. It may have been delivered in a more direct way during the time of Kraus, but statements such as the one made by the current CA indicates to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that nothing has changed...it's business as usual.
Phoenix said: The discouragement of thinking and reasoning has always been the keynote of the NAC.
ReplyDeleteIgnorance has always been the linchpin of the NAC's success.
Rich points out that ignorance has always been the linchpin of the NAC's success...very well said!
ReplyDeleteIt is very clear that the NAC neither wants nor welcomes education, questioning, or plain old common sense. I just want to qualify this statement by saying this is a large, broad, generalization.
However, overwhelming empirical evidence to support this can be found around the globe. Countless firsthand experiences (inclding my own) have shown that once one questions the NAC and its so-called authority, a very consistent sequence of events soon follows.
The events include, but are not limited to, guilt tactics, fear mongering, the ever typical lack of communication, head shaking, sympathy for your lack of faith, and of course the trump card of the ever vague "SIN AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST"!
Now, these tactics were quite effective in the years prior to the internet. However, with an ever increasing access to information (not all accurate I know) the members of the NAC who have been stricken with the spirit of doubt must make a leap of faith and break free from the bonds of this cult. Not, of course, without the threat of their "soul's salvation" hanging in the balance, and the pity from the brainwashed slugs who lack the intelligence, or simply do not care to seek it out out of fear of losing the positions of power they posess within this odd organization.
The utter man-worshiping nature of the NAC should be enough to send the normal human running for the hills. Yet, thousands will take vacation days from work next week, in order to have the opportunity to be near the man who leads this cult. I can only scratch my head at such behavior and wonder how I spent so much time in such an organization.