In the News...

LDS CHURCH SENDS INTERFAITH MESSAGE

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently used a symbol of the Angel Moroni as part of a billboard message in cooperation with other faiths in Los Angeles. The Feb. 12, 2000 issue of Church News reported that the LDS symbol appeared along with symbols of Catholicism, Judaism and Islam, with the message "I Think, Therefore I Pray," written across the top. The billboard was jointly sponsored by the various faiths as a means of uniting around an allegedly common belief in prayer.

GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH ON LDS WEBSITE AIDS MORMON PRACTICE

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (EP) - People who use Mormon genealogy records to research their family histories may unwittingly be facilitating one of the cult's bizarre beliefs. Names added to the Mormon church's popular Family Search web site may be used in temple ceremonies that include performing baptisms for the dead, which the cult believes gives the deceased a second chance to join Mormonism in the spirit world. Family Search is linked to the church site, but there is no notice advising users about the possible use of added names, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Launched last May, the site receives about seven million hits each day. Five million names have been added to the genealogy database, bringing it to 600 million names, the newspaper reported.

HANEGRAAFF ACCUSES T.D. JAKES OF HERESY FOR VIEWS ON TRINITY

DALLAS, Tex. (EP) - Christian broadcaster and cult-watcher Hank Hanegraaff has accused prominent black preacher T.D. Jakes of heresy for his views on the trinity. Jakes, who is one of the nation's most prominent evangelists and is founder of one of the nation's largest churches (The Potter's House in Dallas), rejected the criticism as "semantics."

A harsh critique of Jakes appeared in the January issue of Hanegraaff's magazine, Christian Research Journal. The article accused Jakes of promoting modalism, an ancient heresy which states that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are merely different "modes" of God, rather than three unique beings.

[Editor's note: Orthodox Christian trinitarianism affirms that within the nature of the one God there are three "persons," personal distinctions or centers of consciousness, not that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three beings. See The Watchman Expositor, Vol. 16, No. 3, 1999 for our Profile on Oneness Pentecostalism.]

Jerry Buckner, an African-American radio host and pastor who wrote the critique, said, "Do we really want a non-Trinitarian to be the spiritual leader of our country? The Trinity is the primary truth of New Testament theology."

Buckner accused Jakes of deceiving followers by promoting Oneness Pentecostal views. Jakes provided a statement to Buckner saying he believes "there is one God who manifests Himself in the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit," but Buckner insists that Jakes is merely hiding his ties to Oneness Pentecostalism in order to achieve mainstream acceptance.
Buckner told Charisma magazine, "T.D. Jakes is a cult leader and his ministry is a cult. He needs to repent of his theology if he is to be considered the next Billy Graham."

Buckner pointed to a statement on the T.D. Jakes Ministries web site which says God "exists in three manifestations." Buckner and Hanegraaff say the word "manifestation" is unsound, and insist that to be theologically orthodox, Jakes must state that the Trinity is "three separate persons."

But Jakes says, "The language in the doctrinal statement of our ministry that refers to the Trinity of the Godhead as 'manifestations' does not derive from modalism. The Apostle Paul himself used this term referring to the Godhead in 1 Timothy 3:15, 1 Corinthians 12:7, and 1 John 3:5-8. Peter also used the term in 1 Peter 1:20. Can this word now be heresy when it is a direct quote from the Pauline epistles and used elsewhere in the New Testament?"

Jakes acknowledges ties to the Oneness Pentecostal movement. He is a first assistant to the general bishop of Higher Ground Always Abounding Assemblies, a Oneness Pentecostal network. Jakes said he traces his spiritual heritage to both Baptists and Oneness Pentecostals. "I have been shaped by both denominations. I appreciate both, but am controlled by neither."
Jakes issued a statement clarifying his views on the Trinity, which said in part, "I believe in one God who is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

I believe these three have distinct and separate functions - so separate that each has individual attributes, yet are one. I do not believe in three Gods."

Jakes told Charisma magazine, "I look forward to the day when Christians do not judge one another by our diverse associations," he said, "nor the nuances of semantics, but by our love and the sweet fruit of Christ in our lives."

Arguments over Oneness theology are nothing new. The issue caused a split among Pentecostals in 1916, when the Assemblies of God separated itself from a group of ministers who insisted on baptizing converts only in the name of Jesus, rather than in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Members of Oneness Pentecostal churches have historically rejected the doctrine of the Trinity as polytheism.

Y2K DOOMSDAY BOOK SURPLUS

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (EP) - Though most of the world survived the turn of the millennium without experiencing disasters, Christian bookstores are facing their own Y2K crisis: hundreds of unsold apocalyptic Christian books predicting societal chaos on Jan. 1. Most store owners are boxing up the books and returning them to publishers, according to a report by Charisma News Service. "We're packing it up and shipping it back as quickly as we can," said Kitsy Blanchard, manager of the Living Vine Christian Bookstore in Columbia, S.C. Major publishers like Thomas Nelson and Multnomah are honoring their return policies, though some smaller companies have refused to give credit for Y2K books.

CALL FOR Y2K PARANOIA APOLOGY

RAYMORE, Mo. (EP) - Christian Y2K alarmists should repent for inaccurate predictions that led to personal debt, church splits and marriage problems, according to Christian computer expert Steve Hewitt, editor of Christian Computing magazine. "While people who followed bad advice need to take some responsibility for their own actions, those that stood in places of leadership need to own up to their mistakes," wrote Hewitt, who called for "accountability from those who painted Y2K to be much more than it ever was." The Y2K alarmism in the Christian community damaged its credibility, Hewitt argues. Rather than providing an opportunity for evangelism, as some suggested, the "sensational stand" by many leaders caused Christians to be ridiculed.

HELL HATH NO FURY

NEW YORK, N.Y. (EP) - Hell has no fury, period, according to a survey by U.S. News and World Report. The magazine found that while more people believe in Hell today than did in the 1950s, most think of Hell as a state of existence apart from God, rather than as a physical place. Although 64 percent of respondents said there was a hell, 53 percent described it is "an anguished state of existence eternally separated from God" rather than an actual place. Only 34 percent said hell is an actual place where people suffer eternal fiery torments.

WATCHTOWER SOCIETY CHANGES BLOOD TRANSFUSION POLICY

In the June 15, 2000, issue of The Watchtower, the Watchtower Society announced that Jehovah's Witnesses may receive fractions from blood cells in their medical treatment. Witnesses were previously allowed only fractions from plasma.
The Society has also declared that Jehovah's Witnesses who receive blood transfusions, but later repent for receiving the treatment, will not be subject to disfellowshipping. Witnesses who are not repentant, however, will be considered as having "disassociated" themselves (i.e., voluntarily ending their membership int he Watchtower Society).

In a press release following a June 13, 2000, article in the London Times, the Watchtower Society reiterated that it has not changed its doctrine, proclaiming that it still considers blood transfusions to be a violation of the biblical mandate to abstain from eating blood.

UNIFICATION CHURCH ACQUIRES UPI

News World Communications, an affiliate of the Unification Church that owns the Washington Times newspaper, announced on May 15th that it has acquired the United Press International wire service.

Rev. Sun Myung Moon, leader of the Unification Church, plans to maintain UPI as an independent news-gathering service. The Moon-owned Washington Times is highly regarded as a politically conservative newspaper in the nation's capital.

Steve Hassan, director of the countercult organization Freedom of Mind and a former member of the Unification Church, says that "Moon is buying UPI because he believes he is sinless and chosen to rule the world and this entity will help him to control information."

MARTINDALE RESIGNS FROM THE WAY

L. Craig Martindale resigned as leader of The Way International on April 20th after a former member filed a lawsuit accusing Martindale of forcing her into a sexual relationship.

Paul and Frances Allen have filed a $2 million suit for breach of contract against The Way Intl., alleging that Martindale pressured Frances Allen into a sexual relationship. The suit also alleges that The Way encourages its members to become financially and psychologically dependent upon the group.

Martindale has issued a written statement in which he admits to a consensual sexual relationship, but denies all the charges in the Allens' lawsuit.

Martindale was installed as president of The Way in 1982 by its founder Victor Paul Wierwille.

Rosalie F. Rivenbark, the new president and only the third leader of The Way in its 57-year history, declines interviews due to the recent court cases involving the group. Despite this refusal, Rivenbark released a public statement affirming the mission of The Way in which she alludes to the allegations in the lawsuit:

"Those participating in home fellowships [i.e., meetings of The Way] do so freely of their own volition. Finances for the operation of The Way rest entirely upon the renewed-mind believing and love of each individual."¹

1 "New Way Leader," Sidney (Ohio) Daily News, May 26, 2000.

SCIENTOLOGY LAWSUIT DROPPED

Prosecutors in Clearwater, Florida, have dropped the charges of abuse and neglect against the Church of Scientology over the 1995 death of Lisa McPherson.

Prosecutors dropped the charges following the change by the medical examiner in the reported cause of death from "undetermined" to "accidental." Medical examiner Joan Wood changed the reported cause after reviewing new medical evidence submitted by experts hired by the Church.