In Reply to: everyone is vulnerable posted by Acheick on July 12, 2004 at 11:35:01:
Very interesting subject, Acheick...
You know probably in the back of your mind - I really don't have letters, to quote'm, plus see no need, to make a point by being very precise as far as TF is concerned - that Berg talked lots of that danger...getting lifted up in pride etc.
He even taught the IMO right idea, that to appeal
to you/us, the enemy of our soul has to use some truth & mix it with the venom of individual lies.
(But I do believe, that God allows that, to teach you valueable lessons, once being really sorry, that past, the wounds can heal...plus the Lord lets people purposely be deceived: 1.Kings 22)
With all these right observations Berg made,I think he became often more trustworthy, than he really deserved for all that he taught in contradiction to the Bible...we swallowed that, we
figured: new time, more enlightenment, prophet of the end should know best.
Personally I think there were quite some clever people in TF...to get them fooled, it took quite something.
It's interesting to study, how it just took little time after the death of the original disciples, that the churches/congregations leaned more & more
towards a religious system, headed by a bishop...
Some movements, like the brethren, also Calvinists
in the beginning (it seems to me), rather adhered to the priesthood of all the believers & really had no hierarchical order...they were all Bible teachers to some degree.
I think even in the synagogues they had such habit
of getting up reading a scripture & giving a word of interpretation, as the one incident with Jesus
might prove...
One other thought: the Bible contains enough material to be understood quite immediately or being taught by the "simplest" of older brethren,
so to speak.True, there are super deep subjects,
which only the very bold (or false teachers?) claim to really have understood.However, if we just followed, what we know is right, without a shadow of a doubt, it'd keep us busy enough, avoiding to get sunk in areas, to deep for us.
But once in awhile, we might come across very good teachers, humble enough...not lusting for this or that...rare as it might seem.