Date Posted:18:18:44 12/13/04 Mon Author: Chris Subject: Re: Exclusivism it ain't In reply to:
Joe Chung
's message, "Exclusivism it ain't" on 16:55:04 12/13/04 Mon
To get the full picture of cult exclusivism, you also need to consider things like isolationism and "spiritual elitism", a couple of hallmarks of UBF, generally speaking.
With other words, what makes a cult a cult are not only issues of theology and doctrine, but also psychological/sociological/organizational issues: Authoritarianism, group think, mind control, peer pressure, pressure to perform, pressure to conform, spiritual abuse, shame-based ministry, no accountability of leaders, criticism disallowed, controlled information flow, deceptive recruiting practices, love bombing, manipulation, repetitive teaching, indoctrination etc. etc.
Even though we talked a lot about doctrine here, the doctrinal issues are not the main problem with UBF, and even if they were, it would be difficult to see it and pin it down, because in a group like UBF, what they officialy teach and what they teach by their practices is often very different. If you take the official statement of faith of UBF, it sounds pretty orthodox. Even some of the Sunday messages may sound pretty orthodox (you need to be an insider to understand the systematical, sometimes very subtle twisting). In such groups, the real teachings is given between the lines, through imitating others, through blaming and flattering etc. A group like UBF hides their REAL teachings. For instance, you will find no mentioning of "marriage by faith" (i.e. leader arranged marriage) on any of their web sites. They also preach many things that they don't adhere to in reality. For instance, UBF would officialy state that divorce is unbiblical. But in practice they arranged many divorces and remarriages. The leader would claim that she is very humble and you should not admire her, when in reality she lets herself be called "Mother" and "Reverend." You could find thousands of such examples. What groups like UBF claim and what is their reality is far away from each other. Also, generally UBF even avoids to put any of their doctrines in written form. They don't need it. Spiritual abuse always operates with unspoken and unwritten rules.
That's very different in the Catholic church. They openly claim and purport their teachings. You can read them in their Catechism and even in the Internet www.vatican.va. They openly publish their doctrines and dogmas, very different to groups like UBF. If you read the Catechism of the Catholic Church", you have their teachings, including their belief to be the only true church and their beliefs about Apostolic Tradition and Mary. You can think about these issues as you like, but at least they frankly say what they believe. In the chapter about The Apostolic Tradition, for instance, you will find their teaching that the Bible (written word) and the church tradition (orally, e.g. everything the pope says) are equivalent in authority. You can find all encyclica on the website, including "Humani Generis" by pope Pius XII written in 1950 and still effective. Read passage 22 where he explicitely says that church tradition and Bible are tantamount, claiming the inerrancy of both the Bible and the word of the pope (maybe today they would restrict the former under the influence of historical-critical theology).
UBF believes similar things like apostolic succession. They call it "spiritual order", but you won't find it on any of their official web sites. (Brian's site does not count because he states that his site reflects only his own opinion, and even there you won't find anything really specific and in detail). UBF is a ministry of hidden teachings that you have to find out by banging you head against the invisible walls of their unspoken rules like in a mirror cabinet.
In short, while the Catholic church may have many severe doctrinal issues, they are very different from UBF in the sociological aspects and they are - largely - honest about their real teachings and do not use mind control.
