The California Collection/TheCaliforniaCollection.cdr/his075/way3.lzh/WAY3.TXT

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CUL:The Way International  by Tony Capoccia

   I. BACKGROUND

   The Way International is a false religion commonly referred to as a
cult. Walter Martin, in his book, The Rise of the Cults, defines a cult
as:

   "A cult, then, is a group of people polarized around someone's
interpretation of the Bible and is characterized by major deviations
from orthodox Christianity relative to the cardinal doctrines of the
Christian faith, particularly the fact that God became man in Jesus
Christ" (p. 12).

   The Bible warned us that there would be false Christs and false
gospels:

   "If someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus
we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you
received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted...such men
are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of
Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of
light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as
servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions
deserve" (2 Corinthians 11:4, 13-15 NIV).

   The Way International was founded by Victor Paul Wierwille, a former
pastor of 16 years in northwestern Ohio. He resigned from his pastorate
and disposed of his library of some 3, 000 volumes and developed his
own interpretation of the Bible that became the doctrines of The Way
International. He professes to have had heard God's voice:

   "God spoke to me audibly, just like I'm talking to you now. He said
he would teach me the word as it had not been known since the first
century, if I would teach it to others" (Elena S. Whiteside, The Way:
Living in Love, New Knoxville, Ohio: American Christian Press, p. 178).

   The Way Magazine states, "The so-called Christian Church today is
built essentially on man-made doctrine, tradition, confusion, bondage
trips, and contradiction to the word as it was originally God-breathed"
(The Way Magazine, September-October 1974, p. 7).

   The Way International believes Victor Paul Wierwille has the only
true interpretation of the Scriptures, and is the only one who can lead
fellow Bible students out of the confusion in which traditional
Christianity has engulfed them. This exclusive claim to inspiration is
a characteristic of cults (Josh McDowell, Understanding the Cults, p.
142).

   II. DOCTRINES

   A. Deity of Jesus Christ

   Fundamental to Christianity is the truth that Jesus Christ is God.
Nearly every cult denies this basic Biblical truth. Wierwille and The
Way international clearly deny the Divinity of Jesus Christ:

   1. The Way's Definition of Jesus Christ

   "If Jesus Christ is God and not the Son of God, we have not yet been
redeemed" (Victor Paul Wierwille, Jesus Christ Is Not God, p. 6).

   "God is eternal whereas Jesus was born...Jesus Christ's existence
began when he was conceived by God's creating the soul-life of Jesus in
Mary. God created, brought into existence, this life in an ovum in
Mary's womb" (Victor Paul Wierwille, The Word's Way, Vol. 3, pp. 26,
37).

   "Those who teach that Jesus Christ is God and God is Jesus Christ
will never stand approved in 'rightly dividing' God's word, for there
is only one God, and 'Thou shalt have no other gods'...The Bible
clearly teaches that Jesus Christ was a man conceived by the Holy
Spirit" (Victor Paul Wierwille, Jesus Christ Is Not God, p. 79).

   2. Biblical Defense of the Deity of Jesus Christ

   Below is an excerpt from Josh McDowell's book, Understanding the
Cults, p. 151, which he lists a comparison of the attributes and titles
attributed to God and those attributed to Christ. The conclusion is
obvious--Jesus Christ is God:

   Attributes

   of God the Father and the Son

   1. from everlasting Psalm 90:2 Micah 5:2 2. first and last Isaiah
44:6 Revelation 1:17 3. fills all Jeremiah 23:24 Ephesians 4:10 4. does
not change Malachi 3:6 Hebrews 13:8 5. is the Almighty Exodus 6:3
Revelation 1:8 6. God of truth Deuteronomy 32:4 John 14:6 7. creates
all things Isaiah 44:24 Colossians 1:16 8. King of Kings 1 Timothy 6:15
Revelation 19:16 9. everlasting dominion Psalm 145:13 Daniel 7:14 10.
final judge Romans 14:10 2 Corinthians 5:10 11. name is above all Psalm
83:18 Philippians 2:9 12. reward is with Him Isaiah 40:10 Revelation
22:12 13. perfect love 1 John 4:8 John 15:9 14. the light 1 John 1:5
John 1:5-9; 8:12 15. our hope Psalm 39:7 Titus 2:13 16. takes away
death Isaiah 25:8 2 Timothy 1:10 17. every knee bows Isaiah 45:23
Philippians 2:10 18. blots out sin Isaiah 43:25 1 John 1:7 19. forgives
sin Exodus 34:7 Mark 2:5 20. calms sea Psalm 107:29 Matthew 8:26 21.
prepares heavenly city Hebrews 11:16 John 14:2 22. glorify His name
Isaiah 24:15 2 Thessalonians 1:12 23. glory forever Galatians 1:4, 5 2
Peter 3:18

   Jesus said, "If you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be,
you will indeed die in you sins" (John 8:24 NIV).

   B. Source of Authority

   1. The Way International believes that there are two sources for
truth, one is the Bible and the other is the teachings of their founder
Victor Paul Wierwille. This conclusion can be easily made in the fact
that he claims divine revelation from God, that he alone has the
ability to instruct in the truth, especially since the first century
(The Way: Living in Love, p. 178). One might notice that two other
false religions have made similar claims, the Roman Catholics with
their Pope who claims sole right to interpret the Scriptures, and the
Mormons with the "gold plates" that Joseph Smith discovered that
provides insight into the truths of God.

   Wierwille's view of the Bible is unique and divergent from the
historical view of the Church. He says, "...The records in the gospels
are addressed at times to Israel and at other times to the Gentiles,
but never to the Church of God. One of the greatest errors in the
translations of the Bible was placing the four gospels in the New
testament. The gospels logically belong in the Old Testament" (Victor
Paul Wierwille, Power for Abundant Living, p. 5).

   2. "Wierwille claims that he properly interprets the Bible and
preserves the meaning of the text, confident that it is God's
infallible Word. But in practice, He manipulates texts, adds words to
them in brackets, and, if all else fails, claims that the original
meaning was "lost" by the Apostate Church and that God has given it
especially to him to reveal to the world. Such practices effectively
make the Bible little more than a tool in Wierwille's work to build his
own system" (Robert and Gretchen Passantino, Answers to the Cultist at
Your Door, Eugene Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 1981 p. 166).

   C. Trinity

   The Way International rejects the doctrine of the Trinity. They
believe that God is only one person and not three persons in one as is
clearly taught in the Scriptures. Wierwille stops at the verse that
says, "there is one God..." (1 Timothy 2:5), and does not consider the
other verses that speak of additional persons in the Godhead, "In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God...The Word became flesh, and lived for a while among us" (John
1:1;14). That Word is Jesus who is called God! The third person is
indicated in Acts 5:3, "Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has
so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit...you have
not lied to men but to God" (Acts 5:3-4).

   D. Virgin Birth

   Wierwille denies the virgin birth, "If it is said a virgin shall
bring forth a son your Bible would fall to pieces. It says plainly that
Mary was a virgin only at the time of conception, not at Jesus' birth;
the theory of virgin birth has been a theological assumption and
erroneous teaching. The Bible said in verse 20 that God told Joseph,
'Take unto thee thy wife' when Joseph took her unto himself he lived
with her as a husband lives with a wife. She was a virgin when she
conceived by God, but when Joseph took her unto himself she was no
longer a virgin. The divine conception made Mary no longer a virgin
(The Way Magazine, Dec. 1970, p. 6).

   Wierwille's false theology comes into direct conflict with the
truths of the Scripture, "The virgin will be with child and will give
birth to a son...When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord
had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union
with her until she gave birth to a son (Matthew 1:23-25). The Bible is
clear, a virgin gives birth, but The Way International denies those
truths.

   E. Salvation

   Wierwille believes salvation is manifest not only by believing in
Christ but also by speaking in tongues, "the only visible and audible
proof that a man has been born again and filled with the gift from the
Holy Spirit is 'always' that he speaks in a tongue or tongues (Victor
Paul Wierwille, Receiving the Holy Spirit Today, p. 148)

   The Way International claims that their gospel is valid because it
demands verbal confession of faith in Christ, but Jesus said, "If you
do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in
your sins" (John 8:24). They believe that Jesus is not God and that he
was not born of a virgin, which is not believing in the same Jesus that
is in the Bible. Also the manifestation of tongues is never a part of
salvation.

   F. Abundant Life

   A big "lure" that The Way International uses to induct people into
its teachings and practices is its promise of an Abundant Life, which
is found described in this poster found on numerous college campuses:

   YOU CAN HAVE POWER FOR ABUNDANT LIVING

   Abundant living means you can be SET FREE from all fear; doubt and
bondage; DELIVERED from poverty, sickness and poor health; OVERFLOWING
with life, vitality and zest; RESCUED from condemnation and
self-contempt; CURED of drugs and sex abuse. You can RESTORE your
broken marriage; ENJOY a happy united family, where there is no
generation gap. If you have power for abundant living you can GAIN
self- respect; enjoy SATISFYING work with more than ADEQUATE income.
You can OVERCOME depression, discouragement and disappointment and have
LOVE, JOY, AND REAL PEACE. There can always be a POSITIVE outlook on
life, day after day, with no let down. there can be a new PURPOSE in
your life. If you have the more abundant life.

   YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT!

   Every problem you ever had can be overcome when you are fully and
accurately instructed.

   (Josh McDowell's Book, Understanding the Cults, pp. 149-150).

   These claims can be easily refuted by a careful study of the Bible,
for example:

   Jesus did promise believers an abundant life, "I have come that they
may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10). But the context
of this passage refers not to material wealth, but to spiritual
salvation and its attendant fullness. In the lives of the Apostles we
do not see great material blessings; in fact much of the first century
Church was extremely poor materially, as the Book of Acts attests. The
Apostle Paul and Timothy were not cured of their various afflictions
and illnesses as they lived the abundant Christian life; in fact, Paul
asserts that his physical affliction, a "thorn in the flesh" (2
Corinthians 12:7) was given to Paul for humility because of the
tremendous revelations and visions he had received from God.

   Neither do we see peace between family members as necessarily a
promise of salvation. Jesus said, "Do not suppose that I have come to
bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
For I have come to turn 'a man against his father, a daughter against
her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother- in-law--a man's
enemies will be the members of his own household'" (Matthew 10:34-36).
Each of the other claims of the poster could be similarly refuted each
in turn, but the point remains that The Way's claims are distortions of
the truth.

   III. CONCLUSION

   The Way International is a false Christian Cult. The deception is
obvious at some points and very subtle at others. Its teachings consist
of distortions of Scriptural truth, reinterpretations of Biblical texts
and bold denials of Scripture that contradict the assertions of
Wierwille. The salvation it proclaims is false and ineffective, being
based upon a savior who is not God incarnate and a "salvation
experience" which must include the speaking of tongues. Yet, according
to the January 1987 issue of "The Church Around the World" it is
increasingly popular both here in America and abroad. It is the third
most popular cult movement, following the Mormons and Jehovah's
Witnesses. Books, pamphlets and even computer programs are some of the
methods they employ to propagate their false teachings. We need to be
very careful when handling any of their literature or "free" computer
programs of the Bible. The Bible Program from The Way International is
"tainted" with their false theology in the form of "built in" study
notes. The only protection we as believers have from false teachings
and false teachers is to "stay in the Word, " reading it, memorizing
it, and obeying it. Only then will we be able to discern the truth and
discard false teachings such as The Way International.

   Tony Capoccia Bible Bulletin Board