In Reply to: It's like Jo said posted by Bible student on July 18, 2003 at 21:11:29:
Is the Family a Christian organization?
No. No more than the Mormons, the Masons or the Republican party. All of these profess to believe in God & Jesus but it's not the reality.
And was Berg a Christian?
No. Acts says the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch' and a disciple means a 'follower of the Teaching.' Berg did not follow Jesus but he was reprobate as the poster above says.
What are the qualifications for being Christian? To believe in and accept Jesus as your Savior? Are there any others?
Yes, to believe, but even Berg said believe comes from the greek word 'pisteao' which means 'to drink in'. Not just head knowledge but something that is the core of someone's life, & if something is a core beleif of your life you'll certainly live it. Berg was a hypocrite who spoke fancy words with his mouth but didn't live them.
Based solely on that, does or doesn't the Family or Berg fall into the category of Christianity?
Individuals in the Family are sincere Christians & the Family as a whole was more Christian once & a lot less Christian now. They are a pseudo-Christian cult.
But then consider the warped rules, guidelines and beliefs of the Family, if they are Christian, how can they not be Christian, and if they aren't Christian, what about their foundation beliefs in Jesus?
By 'their' you have to mean the sincere individuals who have a relation with Jesus. The organization itself under Berg's horrible policies became less & less Christian. It was like a vine that got choked out by the weeds.