In Reply to: Re: No favorite of mine, sorry... posted by Pastor Don on November 10, 2009 at 20:02:28:
Observer and PAstor Don:
My personal journey took me through some of the valid oservations of some radicals in the counterculture of the early '70s. Berg fobbed off of that to seduce followers. I was taken in.
But, times changed, and so did I.
Upon leaving TF, it took me a while to become less and less doctrinaire, and to take off those tinted glasses while going through post-cult culture shock and the rediscovery of my own free mind, as well as the true "mind of Christ" available through the real Scriptures and true fellowship with mature Christians, versus Mo letters and other cult members, etc.
I came to be more accepting of Christians with lifestyles not defined as "radical" a la Berg.
I figure God knows His own business better than I did in my HUGE mistake of following Berg as if he had any truth of his own, or as a valid man of God of any kind. His own theodicy was that of a megalomaniacal pervert writ large; nothing more.
Looking back, Berg sounded like a "thought reformer" in a Chinese prisoner of war camp for Americans and South Koreans, or even for the re-education camps/killing fields of Cambodia/Campuchea. He had an evil agenda, which had nothing to do with real Christianity of any kind. Ever.
Paul rejoiced that the Gospel (the real one, not one like Berg's--see 2 Cor 11) was preached for any motive.
I'm glad that God is worshipped for any reason--He has a way of getting through to people eventually--he did me.
I just read a very interesting book by an unbeliever; a regular rock and roll reviewer assigned to covering contemporary Christian music--I think you would both like it. It's called "Body Piercing Saved My Life", by Andrew Beaujon.
Check it out. He was a little condemning, or at least very suspicious, of most of the Christians he interviewed. He didn't rant on in a manner like Berg's; though. He didn't get saved by the end of the book; either; but ended up with some new very good friends.
He also made some incisive observation you might agree with, Observer.
'Later!
OT2