In Reply to: Re: Hi and welcome! posted by Bognor Regis on October 11, 2006 at 01:23:38:
Regis, I'm not willing to give the devil his due, or in this case, any credit to Berg for spreading Christianity in the early years of the movement. I know there are people who don't agree with me, and that's OK.
First of all, I don't accept the form of Christianity that Berg preached. I don't know if I'd go so far as to say his original teaching was openly heretical, but his theological perspectives and flawed moral reasoning ultimately lead him down that road, so I strongly question whether rotten fruit can come from a tree with healthy roots.
Second, there's quite a lot of documented evidence that Berg was a corrupt preacher from the earliest days of the movement in Huntington Beach. Even Satan can quote scripture and knows the truth about who Jesus is. We see unclean spirits in Mark 1:23-24 going so far as to testify, "...I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God."
So what if Berg preached salvation in Christ? Many hypocrits do exactly that out of little more conviction than that there's a living to be made from fleecing sheep. Berg lived in contradiction to what Jesus taught and ultimately perpetrated great evil in the name of his faith in Christ's love. I don't see Berg as a simple Christian sinner like the rest of us, nor do I view all sins as equal.
In my opinion, Berg blasphemed the Holy Spirit, and so does Karen Zerby to this day. I won't go into all my reasons for thinking this to be the case, because I want to keep this post short as possible.
So welcome to this board! I hope the judgmental tone of my post doesn't scare you off. I'm just feeling particularly passionate lately about the subjects of sin, evil, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
BTW, I stay off drugs and alcohol because of what Berg taught & did. I stay clean and sober by the grace of my Higher Power.